Chapter 242: Delving into the Tiger’s Den

A Tang army cavalry unit of about three hundred men raced through the ravines between the mountains. The Bosi Mountains were part of the Outer Alay Mountains, stretching for thousands of miles. To the south lay the kingdoms of Toharistan, while to the north lay the famous Fergana Basin.

The Bosi Mountains were rich in silver, with large silver mines to the north and south. These mines had shallow deposits of high-quality silver, making them easy to exploit and serving as the main source of silver for the Abbasid Empire.

At that moment, the Tang army was speeding toward the westernmost part of the Bosi Mountains. Dense forests covered the gentle slopes on both sides. The autumn colors had transformed the jungle into a stunningly colorful landscape, but the Tang soldiers had no time to appreciate such beauty. They spurred their horses on, rushing toward the Silver City.

Qin Haiyang, a scout officer, was in charge of this mission. His task was to investigate the defenses of Silver City and prepare for the Tang army’s capture of it.

“Officer!”

A soldier from the Shi state, familiar with the terrain, rushed over to report, “The Camel Mountain checkpoint is twenty li ahead. After passing that checkpoint, it’s another fifty li to the mines.”

“Are there any beacon towers?”

“I passed by here last year, and there were no beacon towers at that time.”

Qin Haiyang pondered for a moment. Last year, the Tang army had not yet invaded the Shi state, and the Abbasid forces posed no threat, so there was no need to build beacon towers. But now, the situation had changed drastically—the Abbasid army had reinforced Silver City. The possibility of building beacon towers had increased significantly. If they were detected by such towers, their plan to spy on Silver City would be ruined.

Thinking this, Qin Haiyang immediately ordered two scouts, “Go and investigate the enemy situation ahead. See if there are any beacon towers.”

The two scouts agreed and rushed forward on their horses. Qin Haiyang turned to the others and ordered, “Dismount and rest here.”

The Tang soldiers dismounted to rest. After resting for a while and eating some dry food, Qin Haiyang examined the surrounding mountains. Based on his experience, there should be more than one path in such terrain.

He called over a soldier from the Shi state and spread out a map on a flat rock, asking, “Is this the only path from here to Silver City?”

This soldier, who was originally a hunter, was very familiar with the local roads. He shook his head and said, “There are two other small paths, but the mountains are high and the slopes steep. The paths are difficult for humans to walk on, let alone horses.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of hurried horse hooves came from ahead. The Tang soldiers, who had been resting on the ground, immediately jumped up, drew their bows, and watched anxiously ahead.

After a while, two dark figures appeared at the turn and gradually approached—they were the two Tang soldiers who had gone ahead to scout. Everyone felt relieved. The two scouts rushed forward and reported, “There are watchtowers and beacon towers on the cliff ahead; it’s inevitable we’ll be detected if we go that way.”
“What about going at night?”
The scouts shook their heads. “There are hidden sentries in the dense forest; it’s difficult to pass even at night.”
Qin Haiyang frowned deeply. What could they do? At that moment, a soldier from the Shi state suddenly remembered something and said urgently, “Captain, there’s another route to take. It’s a bit longer, requiring a detour via the Mi River. It’s two hundred li farther than going straight to Yincheng from here, but the advantage is that there are no patrols.”
Qin Haiyang thought for a moment before ordering decisively, “Alright, then let’s take the longer route!”
The Tang soldiers mounted their horses and followed the Shi state soldiers along another rugged mountain path.
……
The Mi River is the most important river originating from Mount Bosi and flowing toward the countries in the River Region, eventually reaching the Amu Darya River. Countries such as Mi, Kang, Xicao, He, Dong’an, and An are all located along the banks of the Mi River. It can be said that the Mi River is the mother river of these countries.
The Mi River rushes down from the southern foothills of Mount Bosi. Once it leaves the mountain, it becomes calm and wide, making it highly suitable for navigation. The coarse silver ingots transported from Yincheng to Samarkand are carried by water. The Mi River splits into two branches, north and south, at Mount Bosi. Yincheng is located in the middle section of the northern branch, but the current here is rapid and unsuitable for boats; navigation becomes possible only fifty li further downstream. Therefore, the Abbasid army in Yincheng built a dock at the navigable section, and camel caravans had to first transport the silver ingots from Yincheng to the dock.
That morning, the dock was bustling with activity. Teams of slaves were loading boxes of silver ingots onto ships, while hundreds of Abbasid soldiers armed with spears patrolled the area vigilantly.
Under orders from the Abbasid empire, nearly a million jin of coarse silver ingots and some gold ingots from Yincheng were to be transported to Samarkand. This amount represented the total output of silver mines over the past three years. Due to internal strife in the Abbasid empire, the silver ingots had been stored in Yincheng. With the outbreak of the Tang-Abbasid war, the Abbasid vizier ordered that the stored silver ingots be sent back to Kufa.
Given the huge volume of silver ingots to be transported, water was used as the means of transport. They would sail westward along the Mi River to Samarkand and then transfer to camel caravans to deliver them to Mulu in Khorasan. The shipment was divided into three batches. The first batch had been shipped ten days earlier. This was the second batch, the largest one, carrying 500,000 jin of silver and 30,000 jin of gold. Over a hundred ships were moored in the river.
The ships were flat-bottomed vessels used by the Sogdians for transporting goods. They had a deep draft and large carrying capacity, but their drawbacks were obvious: they were bulky and inflexible. Usually, they were used in groups for transportation.

As the last chest of silver ingots was loaded onto the ship, a Persian officer shouted loudly, “Loading complete! Ready to set sail!”
The fleet shifted slightly and slowly set off. The ships were tied together with thick ropes, with a huge guide ship leading the way at the front. In this section where the current was strong, no propulsion was needed, and the ships moved quickly. But after traveling fifty or sixty miles, as the river widened and the current slowed, the force of the water alone was not enough to drive the fleet, so slaves were required to pull the ships from the shore. Thus, another thousand slaves accompanied the fleet.
Along with them were three hundred Persian cavalry, led by a cavalry commander, with one Persian soldier on each ship. The cavalry rode swiftly alongside the ships and reached the confluence of the two tributaries by dusk. From there on, slaves would pull the ships, and after two days of travel, they would arrive at the capital of the Mi state, Jumabazar.
The thousand slaves could not keep up with the speed of the ships and were left far behind. As the current slowed, the fleet lost its momentum and became sluggish, like a marathon runner exhausted after reaching the finish line—so slow that it was faster walking on land.
The cavalry commander looked anxiously behind him. Night was falling, but not a single shadow of the slaves was visible. “Useless bunch!” he cursed inwardly. Seeing that it was already late, he ordered, “Camp here and set off early tomorrow morning!”
The fleet slowly docked, and the soldiers on board jumped ashore. The Persian soldiers lit several bonfires and began roasting mutton. Some drank from wine bottles, the flames lighting up their faces. They talked about women and food, making the shore extremely lively.
…
The Tang army’s scouts crossed the long valleys of the Bosi Mountains and finally reached Mishi Water. This area consisted of gentle hills with beautiful scenery, lush vegetation, and a golden autumn hue. Berries hung abundantly on the branches, and countless colorful birds flitted among them, pecking at the berries and enjoying nature’s bounty. Mishi Water flowed through the gentle hills. With abundant rainfall in the mountains upstream, there were many clear streams. By the time it reached the plains, the river was deep and fast, nourishing the fertile and beautiful lands on both banks.
As the Tang army accelerated its march, the sun was gradually setting behind the Bosi Mountains. A desolate twilight began to envelop the banks of Mishi Water, and gray mist formed on the river’s surface. The chill of late autumn seeped into the Tang soldiers’ armor, prompting them to pull their cloaks tighter around themselves.
“Bak, are there any caves or campsites ahead?”
Qin Haiyang asked the soldier from the Shi state who was guiding them, seeing another large mountain range ahead.

Bak was the name of this soldier from the Stone Country. He was tall and strong, a honest and upright Sogdian hunter who had once been captured as a slave to work in the silver mines. During a rebellion in the mines last year, over a hundred slaves escaped, and he was one of them. He knew the terrain of this area extremely well.

He shook his head and laughed, “There are no caves here. But over by the silver mines, there are countless huge caves—each one can hold hundreds of people. We can only camp by the river here; the woods are too damp, and staying there for two nights will cause joint pain.”

“Then fine! We’ll camp here and set off again tomorrow.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a whistle came from ahead. A Tang soldier rushed over bent over, whispering, “Captain, there’s something ahead!”

Qin Haiyang was startled. He quickly waved his hand, ordering the Tang soldiers not to dismount. He jumped off his horse and rushed forward with the two others. Ahead was a low hill blocking their view. They rushed up the hill, which was covered with bushes. Ignoring the thorns, they lay in the bushes and looked into the distance. About five hundred steps away, several bonfires glowed brightly in the darkness. If one listened carefully, voices and laughter could be heard drifting on the wind.

“It’s the Abbasid soldiers!” whispered the Sogdian hunter Bak. He recognized the familiar, unrestrained laughter of the Abbasid troops.

Qin Haiyang was an experienced scout with excellent eyesight. He quickly estimated that there were around five hundred enemy soldiers. Then he saw a group of boats by the river, seemingly loaded with goods.

“I ask you, what would the Abbasids be transporting by river?”

Hunter Bak immediately understood. Excitedly, he said, “It must be silver ingots, transported from Silver City to Samarkand. They’ve always used boats for this.”

“Silver!”

Qin Haiyang’s eyes lit up. He smacked his lips and laughed, “I’m going to make a fortune!”

He glanced around the bonfires. Just dozens of steps away from the Abbasid soldiers was a forest—a perfect opportunity.

“Could there be troops lurking in that forest?”

“Captain, the forests here are all the same. Whatever it’s like here, it’s the same over there.”

Qin Haiyang retreated and gathered several brigade commanders and platoon leaders to discuss a strategy. They had three hundred cavalry. With proper preparation, they should be able to gain the upper hand. More importantly, there were over a hundred silver-loaded boats in the river—how much silver could that be? Everyone became excited.

But soon they encountered a serious practical problem: even if they defeated the Abbasid army, he might not be able to get a single silver coin. The river was too wide—by the time they defeated the Abbasid army, the boats would have already reached the other shore. What could they do?
“Why not set the boats on fire and let them sink to the bottom of the river? We can’t take the silver anyway!” suggested one of the brigade commanders.
Although Qin Haiyang wanted to make a fortune, he also knew they were in Abbasid-controlled territory. How could they possibly take the silver from the boats? Burning them and sinking them in the river was fine—they could retrieve it slowly after defeating the Abbasids. They had kerosene with them, which would come in handy.
“That’s it, burn the boats!”
Qin Haiyang made the decision. Implementing it wasn’t difficult—after all, they were scouts, equivalent to the Tang army’s special forces, each with their own skills. Many of them were skilled swimmers. They quickly selected a dozen Tang soldiers who were excellent swimmers. Equipped with leather bags filled with kerosene, they dived into the water.
The remaining Tang soldiers entered the dense forest. It was just dusk, and the birds in the woods were still chirping noisily. When the Tang soldiers entered the forest, they startled a large flock of birds, which flew away in confusion. Fortunately, the Abbasid army hadn’t noticed anything unusual in the forest—perhaps they never thought the Tang soldiers would come here.
The Abbasid soldiers guarding the silver mines were isolated from news. At most, they knew the Tang army had taken control of Tashkent, but Tashkent was far away. Even if they came here, news would reach them first. As for the news that the Tang army had crossed the Yao Sha River days ago, they had never heard of it.
It wasn’t surprising. Decades had passed since the Abbasids started mining at Boshan, transporting countless shipments of silver ingots without any accidents. Today was just another day—what could possibly go wrong?
Around the campfire, the Abbasid soldiers enjoyed drinking and eating meat. A few drunk soldiers even started dancing by the fire.
“Are there any residents nearby? Let’s go find some women!” one soldier shouted loudly.
Another soldier smirked disdainfully. “Dream on! There are no households here. In two days, we’ll be in Jumabazar, where we can visit the brothels in the city.”
“Stop dreaming!”
The Abbasid regiment commander came over, patted the soldiers on the shoulders, and warned them, “This silver shipment is of great importance. Drink less alcohol. Once we reach Samarkand, you can drink as much as you want.”
“Commander Razman, what are you worried about? That those slaves will rebel and steal the silver?”

All the soldiers burst into loud laughter. The commander of the Persian army chuckled twice before walking quickly to the riverbank. He shook himself and began urinating noisily. As he urinated, he glanced across the river. The darkness of the night made it impossible to see the other side. At that moment, he seemed to feel the boat shaking. He rubbed his eyes—something was wrong! How could the boat, which had been tightly against the shore, have moved away? Suddenly, a flame appeared in his right front. He was stunned. There was fire on the boat—how could that be? He suddenly shuddered, realized what was happening, and turned around, shouting, “Quick! There’s a fire on the boat! Come and put out the fire!”

The moment he turned around to shout, a poisoned crossbow arrow was shot from the water surface, flying at incredible speed toward the commander’s back. With a “thud,” the arrow pierced his body. He let out a scream and fell into the river.

The sudden incident by the riverbank stunned all the soldiers. They turned to look toward the river. At the same moment the scream was heard, a clanging sound came from the woods, and hundreds of arrows flew out, striking with precision, targeting vital points. Screams filled the air around the bonfires. The Persian soldiers became chaotic. Many jumped up and stumbled toward their horses. A second wave of arrows arrived, hitting many of them as they ran, causing them to fall with screams.

By then, the boats on the river were ablaze. They had reached the middle of the river, and the ropes connecting them had burned through. The boats filled with silver ingots drifted apart in groups. Soon, cracking sounds came from the river as some boats broke apart and sank.

On the riverbank, the Tang army rushed out of the dense forest. They spurred their horses, swinging their swords to kill the fleeing Persian soldiers, or shooting arrows from their horses to kill those already on horseback. The Persian soldiers screamed in panic. Fear of death made them forget about the silver boats and resistence. They only thought about fleeing, but the Tang army’s effective tactics cut off their chances of escape. Surrounded on all sides, the Tang army mercilessly slaughtered every Persian soldier.

Many Persian soldiers jumped into the river but were immediately killed by the Tang soldiers in the water. In less than half an hour, the slaughter came to an end. Burnt tents emitted black smoke, and corpses lay everywhere. Blood flowed into the river, and most of the boats on the river sank to the bottom, covering an area of several miles. It would take months to retrieve them.

Despite the Tang army’s relentless slaughter, dozens of them managed to escape, mostly by swimming across the river to the other side.

“Colonel, what should we do now?” a brigade commander asked anxiously. With the silver ship in trouble, the Abbasid army would surely come to reinforce them—what should they do now?
Qin Haiyang lowered his head in thought for a moment before resolutely saying, “If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you get its cubs? We’ll continue marching toward the silver mine and turn things upside down.”
The Tang soldiers quickly organized themselves, changed into Abbasid military uniforms and horses, threw all the Abbasid corpses into the river, and then set off again toward the silver mine.
At the same time as the 300 Tang scouts were exploring the Bosi Mountain silver mine, 20,000 Tang soldiers led by General Li Guangbi arrived at the capital of Dongcao Country and set up camp ten miles away. Meanwhile, Qiyad’s 30,000 mixed army had already entered the capital a day earlier. He wasn’t in a hurry to engage in battle, so the two armies remained in a standoff.
By this time, the Abbasid campaign in Egypt was nearing its end. The last Umayyad prince, Rahman, had fled Egypt and was on his way to Moldova in Spain.
Caliph Abbas turned his attention to the east. He ordered the Egyptian troops to return to Damascus, while the three legions from Kufa were sent to Khorasan to support the war against the Tang Dynasty in Transoxiana.
Meanwhile, the Tang Empire had also achieved initial victories in its battles in the southwest. The 50,000 new recruits recruited by Gao Xianzhi, after half a year of training, defeated the Nanzhao army under Pi Luge, who tried to advance north into Shu, under Gao Xianzhi’s leadership at Jiazhou. Pi Luge was forced to retreat to Yaozhou.
Gao Xianzhi’s victory greatly boosted the morale of the Tang army. With the rear secured, Emperor Li Longji also turned his gaze toward the distant Western Regions. The report that Li Qingan had captured the State of Shi filled him with excitement. He immediately approved an alliance agreement with the State of Shi and ordered the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to recruit another 20,000 soldiers from Hedong and Guanzhong to send to Anxi. He also ordered 100,000 weapons to be urgently dispatched from the armory to Anxi to fully support the Tang army in its struggle against the Sogdian region. The war between the Tang Dynasty and the Abbasid Dynasty gradually escalated unnoticed.
That night, a carriage slowly stopped in front of Yang Guozhong’s residence.