Chapter 377: Intelligence First

While the Tang army was intensively preparing for war, their scouts had already penetrated every corner of Bactria, Sindh, and Punjab.

The continuous Hindu Kush Mountains ran across the eastern part of Bactria, dividing it from south to north. The western region was a relatively flat plateau, home to the Saka people. Historically, the Kushan Empire had created a glorious civilization there.

With the decline of the Kushan Empire and its eventual destruction by the Hephthalites, this area fragmented into numerous small states. Like the Sogdian states, these countries lived between the Arab Empire and the Tang Empire. Decades earlier, the Arab Empire had launched campaigns of expansion to the east, conquering countless Bactrian states and turning them into vassal states. The Arabs soon discovered silver mines here, making it an important source of silver for them.

The discovery of silver mines further fueled their desire to invade further east. Blocked by the Hindu Kush Mountains from entering the Tang Empire’s western regions, they turned southward. The Arab conquerors advanced toward India, and after decades of conquest, they gradually occupied the northwest of India—Sindh and Punjab—spreading Islam there while seizing countless amounts of food and wealth.

Decades had passed. With the rise of the Tang Empire in the western regions, the two empires inevitably clashed time and again. This time, the Tang Empire’s influence also extended into Bactria and Sindh.

In the early morning, a group of over thirty cavalrymen raced along the banks of the Indus River. White mist covered this fertile and vast land, with large forests visible in the distance. Dense villages were scattered around the forests. In the morning mist, hardworking people had already begun their day’s work on both banks of the Indus. They were the Rajputs, originally the rulers of this land, but now their country had been destroyed, and they had become servants of the Arabs. Living under the oppressive rule of the Arab governors, they produced vast amounts of wealth with their hands, which was then sent to distant Damascus.

The banks of the Indus River were crowded with women doing their morning laundry. The climate here was hot, so clothes had to be washed daily to remove sweat. Thus, morning laundry became the most important household task for local women. The local customs were rough, and sometimes women, unable to bear the heat, would take off their clothes and cool off in the river water.

Not far away, the laughter and chatter of women reached the ears of the cavalry, stirring excitement among many young soldiers. At that moment, one cavalryman said to a young officer with a smile, “Commander He Yan, our clothes are soaked through with sweat inside and out. How about we go wash them in the river? It’s hot anyway, and once the sun comes out, they’ll dry quickly.”

The officer named He Yan Si was the son of General He Yan Yu Run. He was only eighteen years old this year, but he had already served in the army for two years and been promoted to commander due to his merits. This time, Li Qingan sent ten scouting teams deep into Sindh to gather intelligence, and the team led by He Yan Si was one of them.

To avoid arousing suspicion, they all changed into the uniforms of the Sindh Auxiliary Army, which was composed of local Rajputs. The Abbasids currently had only over ten thousand regular troops in Sindh and Punjab. To effectively rule this vast territory, they recruited an army of one million from the Rajputs and used this force as a backbone to expand further into India. Since this army was despised by the local people, they contemptuously called it the Sindh Auxiliary Army.

He Yan Si was a serious and unsmiling young general. Besides inheriting his father’s tall and robust build, he also possessed the carefulness and shrewdness his father lacked. He belonged to the scouting army, the most demanding yet highest-status branch within the Anxi Army, even surpassing the Moadao Army. This was because their commander, Li Qingan, originated from the scouting army. Thus, the scouting army was also an aspiration for countless soldiers. They had to go through strict selection and endure a year of rigorous training in Ningyuan Country before they could join the scouting army.

In a sense, the scouting army was the special forces of the Anxi Army. Many difficult tasks were often assigned to them, with reconnaissance being just one aspect. Special missions such as surprise attacks and assassinations were also carried out by the scouting army.

The scouting team led by He Yan Si set out from Wuyun Fort, crossed the over 800-mile Wakhan Valley, entered the Sindh River basin through Kandahar, and then moved south along the Sindh River, gradually penetrating the Abbasid-controlled region of Sindh. By now, they had ventured over 600 miles into Sindh, with Shabro, the capital of Sindh, just 100 miles ahead.

At that moment, He Yan Si glanced at the soldier who had made the joke and said coldly in Tocharian, “I’ve already said it—no speaking Chinese. It could endanger our lives. Let me tell you one last time: no Chinese. Do you hear me?”

The soldier was so frightened that he lowered his head and dared not say another word. He Yanshi then said to everyone, “I know everyone is very tired, but we must find the main granary of the Arabs as soon as possible. That’s our task. The main force of the Tang army should have set off by now. Time is extremely urgent. I hope the generals can overcome their fatigue and complete the task quickly.” Everyone agreed, and He Yanshi nodded. “Very well, let’s keep moving. We’ll rest at noon.”

At that moment, a large group of women carrying water jars came towards them. When they suddenly saw the cavalry, they started shouting. These women were quite fierce. They put down their jars, picked up stones from the ground, and threw them at them. The scouts were caught off guard, and many were hit by the stones. One scout became furious, drew his sword, and tried to kill someone. He Yanshi shouted angrily, “Luo Qi, don’t cause trouble!” He spurred his warhorse, which rushed forward, and the scouts followed He Yanshi, quickly moving away. The women pointed at their retreating figures, cursing loudly and spitting on the ground.

This wasn’t the first time they had encountered such situations. The Xinde Auxiliary Army had a terrible reputation among the local people. Not only did they act as accomplices to the Arabs, helping them suppress their own people and attack the kingdoms of India, but their military discipline was also extremely poor. Theft, gambling, and prostitution occurred frequently, and the Arabs turned a blind eye or even encouraged it, allowing the local people to vent their anger on this army, thereby diverting their hostility.

The Tang army scouts rode for another hour or so. Their horses began to tire, so they slowed down and looked for a place to rest. They found a forest and dismounted to rest under the trees. More than thirty Tang army scouts lay scattered around, eating dry cakes and beef with water. Their horses were left in a grassy area, quietly grazing on the grass.

It was August, and the climate here was unbearably hot. It felt like living in a steamer. While riding, there was a breeze, but once they sat down, they soon broke into sweat.

“Damn it, this hellish place is so hot. Even if they gave me ten hectares of land to settle here, I wouldn’t do it.”

A soldier complained that his clothes were soaked with sweat over and over again, as if salted. Not only him, but everyone was in the same situation. Many were too exhausted to speak. Another older soldier laughed and said, “Actually, farmers like this climate the most. Look, we’ve been on the road for over ten days, with only two days of rain. The land is fertile, there’s plenty of water for irrigation, and with the hot weather, crops can yield well. I guess two harvests a year are possible here. Food isn’t a problem at all.”

“No wonder! Last year, two million bushels of grain were harvested here. It’s practically a granary.”

Seeing that He Yansi remained deep in thought and silent, the squad leader Luo Qi asked with a smile, “Commander, what are you thinking about?”

He Yansi raised his head and asked the others, “Tell me, why do the people of Sindh hate their army so much?”

“Commander, you’re a bit mistaken. This isn’t their army; it’s the army of the Arabs. Their own country has been destroyed—how could they still have an army?”

“It can’t be said that way. They are now subjects of some Arab caliph, so naturally, the army in Sindh is also theirs. Perhaps the army has poor discipline and causes trouble everywhere, which is why they’re hated.”

“Those women bathing naked in the river—how can they not get harassed? To be honest, I really want to tarnish their army’s reputation even more.”

“Haha! Forget it! Those women are fierce as wolves and tigers. They’ll swarm you and throw you into the river. Instead of becoming a lover, you’d end up as a water ghost.”

The others were most interested in this topic and immediately started talking. He Yansi didn’t interfere as long as they didn’t speak Chinese and expose their identities; it was fine for them to talk.

Just then, a sharp whistle sound came from outside the forest. It was a signal from the sentries outside—something had happened. Everyone immediately jumped up, led their war horses, and mounted them.

“What happened?” He Yansi asked in a low voice.

A sentinel rushed over and said, “An army has arrived, about three thousand strong.”

As soon as he finished speaking, loud shouting was heard outside. It seemed they had already discovered them. However, the other side was speaking in the local dialect, which no one could understand.

He Yansi said to the others, “Don’t panic. Hide your bows and crossbows. Follow me to deal with them.”

He rode out of the forest and saw an army of several thousand people lying scattered all over the ground. They too were resting here. A dozen officers were about to enter the forest when they discovered them.

The soldiers in this army wore the same uniforms as the scouts, with only slight color differences. They were all part of the auxiliary forces and naturally had no armor; they wore robes, a cloth belt around their waists, and bands wrapped around their heads like discs, along with leg wraps. In fact, their appearance was not much different from that of ordinary people, except that they carried a curved sword at their waists, and some soldiers had simple bows and arrows—nothing more.

However, this army seemed quite decent, with over two hundred warhorses. At least one-tenth of the soldiers wore shoes, unlike other armies they had seen, where everyone, even the officers, went barefoot.

Although their uniforms were similar, their appearances varied greatly. Most of these Sindh soldiers had long beards and looked similar to each other, making it hard to distinguish them, while half of the scouts had no beards at all.

An officer glanced at them from head to toe and suddenly asked in Tocharian, “Which army are you from?”

He could tell that He Yansi was not a Rajput but rather resembled the Tocharians from the north. In fact, He Yansi was from the Anxi Uyghurs. Apart from the platoon leader Luo Qi, who was Han, the rest of this scout team were either Anxi Uyghurs or Turkic people. This Sindh army, with its narrow vision, considered anyone who didn’t look like them to be Tocharians.

He Yansi nodded and said, “We came from Kabul, ordered to deliver a message to the governor of Sindh.”

The officer smiled and said, “Then I’m afraid your message won’t get through.”

“Why?” He Yansi was surprised.

“The governor isn’t in Sindh now—he’s in Punjab!”

“Then I can deliver the message to someone in the governor’s office; they can pass it on. I don’t necessarily need to meet the governor in person.”

“That’s true. How did I not think of that?”

It was too hot, and the officer’s intelligence seemed to have declined. He had no suspicions at all about He Yansi and his group, so he warmly invited them, “We’re heading to Shabro. Come with us! With so few of you, if you’re surrounded by angry villagers, you’ll be in danger.”

He admired He Yansi, who was quite tall—about a head taller than him. He stood on tiptoes to compare their heights and exclaimed in admiration, “Man, it’s rare to see someone this tall!”

He Yansi had been struggling to obtain information, so since the other party had offered to take them along, he accepted graciously and said, “Alright! We’ll go with you.”

After resting for a while, this army set off on its journey. The scouts mixed among them, forming their own group. The officer, interested in He Yansi, urged his horse forward to walk beside him.

“My name is Summaro. What’s your name?”

“My name is Yan Si, a secret guard.”
“Hehe! I’ve been to Humi. It’s full of mountains and valleys. But the people there are short and dark-skinned—none as tall as you. They’re all about my waist height, like monkeys.”
He Yan Si smiled again and said, “My father was from Shule in Anxi. He was a merchant who married four wives in Humi and settled there.”
“Shule must be a great place! I heard the people there are extremely wealthy. Ordinary families wear silk and use porcelain. Here, only landlords and the elite in the city can afford such things. My wife has been asking me to buy her silk for twenty years, but I’ve never even seen any.”
He Yan Si took out a piece of silk from his saddle bag and handed it to him, smiling, “This was given to me by our king. Here, I give it to you!”
Sumaro snatched the silk and stroked it gently, his eyes shining with excitement. “Brother, are you really willing to give it to me?”
“Anyway, the king will give me more when I return. So I’m giving it to you. Let’s be friends.”
“You’re truly my good brother!”
Sumaro was overjoyed. Fearing He Yan Si might change his mind, he hurriedly stuffed the silk into his chest and said with a smile, “It’s a shame to give this silk to my wife. I can use it to marry a young and beautiful woman instead.”
He Yan Si smiled and asked, “You said earlier that we might be killed by angry villagers. Do the locals here hate soldiers so much?”
“It wasn’t this serious before. It only started this month.”
He glanced around and lowered his voice. “There might be a riot soon.”
“Why?”
“Shh! Speak softly. Don’t let anyone hear us.”
He whispered, “The Arabs originally promised that those who converted to Islam would be able to receive an annual allowance, just like Muslim Arabs, and no longer have to pay taxes. They were supposed to start receiving it next year. But last month, the governor suddenly announced that he would cancel this promise. Those who converted to Islam would still have to pay taxes, while those who didn’t convert would have to pay double. This caused great dissatisfaction among the people. I heard trouble has already started in Punjab, which is why the governor went there.”
“So, are you going to Shabro to suppress the riots?”
“Hehe! You’re really smart! You guessed right. Troops are being sent to Shabro everywhere. We’ve been assigned to protect Shabro’s grain stores from being looted by the mob.”