Chapter 328: The Mysterious Caravan

In the northern deserts during the New Year, another fierce blizzard swept across the grasslands. Starting from New Year’s Eve, the storm raged for three days and nights before subsiding. When the first rays of sunlight appeared in the twelfth year of Tianbao on the grasslands, the northern deserts had become a world covered in snow.

To the north of Jinshan, about a hundred miles away from the Tang army’s camp, a caravan appeared on the snowy plain. Composed of over 500 camels, it was loaded with various goods in high demand in the grasslands and moved slowly eastward. The Uyghurs were a nomadic people with scarce resources, relying largely on merchants to supply daily necessities. There were mainly three trade routes: the western route, where merchants from Sogdiana, Anxi, and other places crossed Jinshan to deliver large quantities of goods to the grasslands; the central route, which ran through Hedong and Shuofang, featuring official trade with marketplaces set up in border cities where merchants exchanged goods; and the eastern route, passing through Fanyang and Youzhou—where An Lushan had once been a small border trader.

After the An Lushan Rebellion, Tubo occupied Anxi, causing the Silk Road to shift northward into Uyghur territory, and trade along the western route flourished. Many Sogdian merchants came and went through the grasslands, gradually taking control of the Uyghurs’ economic lifelines and supporting their emerging merchant aristocracy. The Sogdians began to play a pivotal role in Uyghur politics, appearing in every power struggle.

At that time, Sogdians entered the grasslands solely for profit, in small numbers, mostly during summer and autumn. Caravans appearing in winter were extremely rare.

This Sogdian caravan consisted of a mix of Sogdians and Turks, totaling over a hundred people. Its leader was a middle-aged man named Baluo from Samarkand. But strictly speaking, this Baluo was not Sogdian but Persian.

After crossing Jinshan, they saw no herders at all. The areas where herders used to reside were now desolate—many had died or fled, leaving nothing behind. This filled Baluo with sorrow. No wonder the Uyghur khan hated Li Qing’an so deeply; the Tang army’s tactics were truly ruthless. It would be very difficult for the Uyghurs to recover.

Beyond Jinshan, the caravan grew anxious, fearing encounters with the Tang army. Yet the more they worried, the more likely it seemed they would encounter them. In the morning, just after crossing a frozen river, they suddenly saw a cavalry unit approaching from the south.

The merchants were all terrified, their faces turning pale; many turned to flee. Baluo quickly shouted, “Don’t run! You can’t escape! Follow my orders!”
The merchants waited nervously for disaster to strike. Then the cavalry arrived—indeed, it was a Tang army scouting party tasked with patrolling the area, and they had just spotted the caravan.
The scouts rushed forward and shouted, “Everyone raise your hands! Those who resist will be killed on the spot!”
Baluo raised his hand first, and the other merchants followed suit. The squad leader waved and ordered, “Search them!”
Dozens of soldiers rushed forward, stabbing at the goods with their spears before checking each bag one by one. No prohibited items were found. One soldier whispered something in the squad leader’s ear. At that moment, Baluo stepped forward, took out a bag full of silver coins, and handed it to the squad leader with a smile, saying, “This is to buy wine for the soldiers. Please show us some leniency!”
The squad leader weighed the silver coins and nodded in satisfaction. “I can spare you trouble, but General Cui has issued strict orders: no caravan is allowed to trade with the Uyghurs. Those who violate this order must be questioned by him. I dare not defy military orders. Come with me!”
Baluo was stunned—had he given the money just to be taken away? As if reading his thoughts, the squad leader smiled and said, “There are two types of merchants who violate the orders. One type does it on purpose and deserves severe punishment, while the other type is unaware and can be given a pass. I can speak on your behalf, saying you belong to the second type, so you won’t be troubled.”
With no choice, Baluo agreed, “Alright! We’ll go with you.”
He turned around and shouted, “Everyone, head south!”
The merchants changed direction and followed the Tang army scouting party southward.
…
Most of the Tang-Uyghur allied forces had withdrawn to their base west of Jinshan, but ten thousand troops remained to garrison the area east of Jinshan. Of these ten thousand, three thousand were Tang soldiers and seven thousand three hundred were Uyghur troops, all under the direct command of Cui Qianyou. Cui Qianyou did not return to Beiting; he stayed on the grasslands, waiting for spring. Cui Qianyou knew better than anyone that despite his dominance in the western part of the desert over the past year, the strength of the Uyghur army had not been significantly weakened. In fact, they had not even clashed with the main force of the Uyghurs. When spring arrived, the Uyghurs would launch a counterattack.
That morning, as usual, Cui Qianyou rode around the camp for inspection, accompanied by a thousand cavalrymen. The clatter of horse hooves on the snow filled the air. The thick snow reached the knees of the warhorses, making movement extremely difficult. The soldiers took good care of their horses, wrapping their legs and bellies with furs as they slowly moved through the snow.

At that moment, a soldier pointed in the distance and shouted, “General, look!”
Cui Qianyou pulled back the curtain to look into the distance. The snow was particularly dazzling under the sunlight, but he still saw it—a group of small black dots in the distance.
“Go and take a look!”
The cavalry turned north and quickly approached those small black dots. It turned out to be a caravan of hundreds of camels, loaded with various goods, accompanied by over a hundred Turks and Sogdians. They were the caravan discovered by the Tang army’s scouts, who were bringing them to the main camp.
Seeing their commander arrive, the scouts quickly dismounted and stepped forward to report, “General Cui, we found this caravan north of Jinshan and brought it back to the camp. We have checked it; there are no prohibited items. They were unaware of the general’s ban on trade and are first-time offenders.”
Since the Tang-Hu allied forces attacked the Uyghurs, caravans had rarely appeared on the grasslands, and it was even rarer to see them in winter. This was the first one. Cui Qianyou was puzzled and pointed with his whip, asking, “Who is the leader? Come forward and answer!”
A man in his forties stepped forward from the caravan. He was Baluo, the leader of the caravan. He stepped forward, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed to Cui Qianyou, speaking fluent Chinese, “Honorable general, I am Baluo, the leader of this caravan.”
Cui Qianyou glanced at him. He was a Sogdian Turk. He then asked, “Where are you from? Where are you going? What goods are you carrying?”
“Reporting to the general, we come from Samarkand and are heading to the Uyghurs’ palace. Here is the tax receipt we paid in Talas City. Please take a look, general.”
Baluo took out a piece of paper and handed it to Cui Qianyou. Cui Qianyou opened it and saw that the value of the goods was 50,000 dinars, with a tax of 2,500 dinars. He returned the receipt and said coldly, “You still haven’t answered my questions.”
The Sogdian merchant glanced at the camel caravan and said, “We do business with the Uyghurs every year and know what they need. Our main goods are salt, sugar, and tea, along with some silverware, which are very popular among Uyghur nobles. We mainly go there to exchange for Uyghur furs to make a profit.”
“Is there no pig iron?” Cui Qianyou continued to ask.
“Reporting to the great general, pig iron can also bring high profits. We originally had pig iron, but when we heard that the Tang army and the Uyghurs were at war in Talas City, we sold it there and exchanged it for salt and sugar. Now we dare not sell pig iron to the Uyghurs. We also didn’t know about the general’s ban on trade; the tax official in Talas didn’t mention it.”

Cui Qianyou nodded. If they came from Suiye, they should know about the trade ban; it was possible they didn’t know if they came from Talas. His answer was satisfactory enough. But these merchants had arrived at just the right time—several severe snowstorms had made it difficult to supply the army, and salt, sugar, and tea were exactly what his troops needed urgently. His expression softened slightly as he smiled and said, “The Uyghur palace has been burned down by me, and the furs from the city have been moved to our camp. You don’t need to go east any further. Thousands of miles east is uninhabited land. Do business with our Tang army instead! I won’t treat you unfairly.”

The merchants exchanged glances. The Sogdian merchant immediately bowed and said, “We agree!”

Cui Qianyou laughed loudly. “Good! Come with us to the camp, and I’ll provide hot water and tents for your accommodation.”

The merchants urged their camels and followed the Tang army to the camp.

Once inside the camp, the soldiers rushed over to help unload the goods. Indeed, they were high-quality salt, sugar, and tea, all packed in cloth bags and covered with dry grass. Dozens of large chests contained silverware, but the Tang army didn’t need it. Instead, they moved the salt, sugar, and tea into the tents. Someone then led them to choose furs, while several supply officers began to inventory the goods and bargain with the merchants.

The merchant Baluo was taken into the main tent, as Cui Qianyou wanted to ask him something. Baluo followed the soldiers into the tent, feeling uneasy. He had heard from the scouts about what had happened in recent months and knew that this Cui Qianyou was a ruthless killer who had driven almost all the herders within a radius of two thousand miles to extinction. If their conversation didn’t go well, would he spare him?

The tent was warm and steamy. In the center was a brazier, with an iron rack above it roasting a whole sheep, emitting a rich aroma of fat and meat. Two bodyguards were busy roasting the sheep, while a beautiful Uyghur girl carried a golden wine jug, filling silver bowls on the table with mare’s milk wine.

“Please sit!”

Cui Qianyou gestured for Baluo to sit and smiled, saying, “I’m having lunch. Let’s share it together!”

The bodyguards cut off a roasted lamb leg and placed it on a plate in front of him, along with a little salt in a small dish. The Uyghur girl also poured him a bowl of wine. Baluo thanked him repeatedly, saying, “Thank you, General!”

Cui Qianyou smiled faintly. He used a sharp knife to chop the lamb meat, picked up a piece that was glistening with fat, dipped it in some sauce and salt, and began chewing. As he did, he asked, “Your Chinese is very good. Where did you learn it?”

Balo was a devout Muslim who dared not drink alcohol. He had only eaten a little mutton and replied respectfully, “At the age of twenty, I went to Luoyang with my father and stayed there for three years.”
“Three years? Can one learn fluent Chinese in just three years?” Cui Qianyou looked at him with some disbelief.
The bodyguard had already replaced Balo’s cup with a bowl of hot tea. Nervous, Balo’s hands trembled as he held the cup. After taking a sip to calm himself, he said, “I have a talent for languages. I can speak not only Chinese, but also Turkic and Arabic.”
“Is that so? You’re quite talented then!”
Cui Qianyou laughed heartily, which made Balo even more nervous. He feared that General Cui might decide to keep him in the army out of whim. Fortunately, Cui Qianyou had only asked casually about languages; his real purpose in bringing Balo here was something else.
After pondering for a moment, Cui Qianyou asked, “I brought you here to ask about the situation in Khwarazm. How is the situation there now?”
Balo’s tense heart finally relaxed. With a wry smile, he said, “Well, on the surface, the situation in Khwarazm seems calm, but behind the scenes, crises are brewing.”
Cui Qianyou was stunned. He slowly put down the mutton in his hand and pressed further, “Be more specific. What kind of crises? To what extent?”
“There are mainly two types of crises. One is the conflict between nations, especially the fierce struggle between the Kingdom of Kang and the Kingdom of Shi over control of the Sogdians. The other is the sharp conflict between Zoroastrians and Muslims. In the past, the Arabs destroyed Zoroastrian temples to build Islamic mosques. Now, since the Tang army supports Zoroastrians, they demand that the mosques be demolished and Zoroastrian temples rebuilt. The Muslims refuse, leading to constant clashes between the two groups. Last September, large-scale bloodshed broke out in Bukhara, killing over two hundred people.”
Cui Qianyou frowned deeply. He had never heard of these things before. He asked again, “What about the Tang army? What’s their attitude?”
Balo sighed and said, “The problem is that the Tang army fails to handle these conflicts fairly. By siding with the Kingdom of Shi and Zoroastrians, they only exacerbate the tensions. Slogans like ‘Drive out the Tang Dynasty, kill Li Qing’an’ have appeared in Bukhara. General Lifi only knows how to suppress things forcefully, which loses him popular support!”
Cui Qianyou fell into deep thought. The reason he asked about this was because he already intended to replace Lifi Yuanli in Khwarazm.

Although Cui Qianyou was a high-ranking general of the Tang army, he was skilled in both civil and military affairs and aspired to become a military and political leader in charge of a region. Back then, he had volunteered to stay in Hezhong to defend it, but Li Qingan ultimately chose Li Fei Yuanli. Although Li Qingan assigned him to the northern deserts to deal with the Uyghurs, which was a sign of trust, Cui Qianyou remained resentful about that decision. He believed that someone rough like Li Fei Yuanli couldn’t govern Hezhong properly—though he might be suitable for dealing with the Uyghurs. Only he could handle the complex situation in Hezhong. After all, Li Fei Yuanli was merely Li Qingan’s confidant. In this regard, Cui Qianyou disapproved of Li Qingan’s approach to selecting officials. Now that Hezhong was in crisis, Cui Qianyou couldn’t help but feel a sense of schadenfreude, but he was also more eager than ever to make Li Qingan aware of his intentions.

Cui Qianyou remained silent in thought. Baluo observed this and, seeming to understand, cautiously asked, “Then, General, what do you think can resolve the crisis in Hezhong?”

Cui Qianyou snapped out of his thoughts and waved his hand. “I was just asking casually. Thank you. The deal is done. You may leave the camp now. Do not go east anymore, understand?”

“I understand. We won’t go east anymore.”

Baluo bowed and then got up to leave. The transaction outside the tent was complete. The merchants had drunk hot tea and were busy packing up their furs, loading them onto camels. When Baluo’s attendant saw his master coming out of the tent, he rushed forward and said, “Master, we’ve packed everything. When can we leave?”

“As soon as it’s packed, we leave immediately!”

The merchants packed their things and left the camp. Not daring to go east, they turned west and traveled dozens of miles away from the camp before Baluo finally breathed a sigh of relief. Since they couldn’t cross through Jinshan, they had no choice but to go through Anxi into Hexi, then head north to Juyan Lake from Zhangye, from there to the Uyghur camp.

Unconsciously, Baluo touched the item hidden in the pocket of his fur coat—still there. It was a personal letter written by the Abbasid Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate to the Uyghur Khan.