Chapter 498: Plateau Scouts

An Lushan eventually escaped from Chang’an. A month later, he began purging Han generals on a large scale in the Fanyang army, replacing all key military positions with ethnic Hu people. On the last day of the first year of Zhenzhi, An Lushan proclaimed himself King of Yan in Youzhou, shedding his false mask. He publicly declared that he would no longer recognize the court in Chang’an and instead pledge loyalty to the court in Chengdu. Under the pretext of restoring the legitimate dynasty, he began actively expanding the military forces.

By December, Turkestan was a world of ice and snow, especially cold at night. In the vast, uninhabited wilderness, the sky was filled with stars, and the intense cold froze even the stars stiff.

About a hundred li away from the capital of Wangting, the city of Bushi, in a canyon, the Bushi River, which flowed through it, had turned into an ice river. This river, originating from the Kunlun Mountains and winding for thousands of li, seemed to be asleep. There was no sign of life on the ice surface, not even in the once-lively water. At this time, the ice surface served as a convenient trade route. Adventurous merchants traveled along this ice road between Shule and various Turkestan states, bringing goods from the Tang Dynasty to Turkestan to fetch good prices.

At night, these merchants would camp together in caves in the mountains, lighting bonfires to ward off the harsh winter and attacks from plateau wolves. In the middle of the canyon, faint glimmers of light could be seen—clearly, someone was camping there.

It was a cave less than ten feet long and wide, yet it was spacious inside. Such caves were the favorite resting places for merchants. As long as a fire was lit at the entrance, they could spend the night safely. At that moment, a fire was burning at the entrance, and a young Hu merchant sat nearby, adding wood to the fire while keeping a vigilant eye on both sides of the canyon.

Inside the cave, another bonfire was lit. Eight or nine merchants were whispering to each other. Pheasants were roasting over the fire, emitting an enticing aroma. Not far from the fire, more than twenty camels lay asleep, their thick fur protecting them from the cold. Next to the camels were piles of goods—mostly tea, as well as silk and porcelain, all of which were highly sought after in Turkestan.

The merchants all appeared to be under thirty years old. Some had Han features while others were of ethnic Hu descent. Most of them were tall and strong. They drank wine while chewing on the freshly roasted pheasants.

“Brother Zhou, since we’re heading to Bushi City tomorrow, do you think the Tibetans will confiscate our goods?”

The speaker was a young Han man who sprinkled salt on a roasted chicken leg and handed it to another man in his thirties, who clearly was their leader—a Han man as well. He was resting with his eyes half-closed against a rock. He took the chicken leg, took a big bite, chewed vigorously, then took a sip of wine before saying in a muffled voice, “It depends on what you say. If you speak Turkic or Tocharian, the Tubo army won’t trouble you. But if you speak Chinese, the Tubo will catch you first. Pretend to be mute, or you’ll kill us all.”

These ten men were actually a squad of scouts from the Tang army. Their task was to investigate the troop deployments of the Tubo people in Wangting Country, so they disguised themselves as merchants. Among the ten scouts, five were Han and five were non-Han. Their leader was an experienced scout captain named Zhou Bi, who had once been stationed in Tocharia and could speak fluent Tocharian. In fact, except for the young soldier, all the other ten scouts could speak Tocharian.

The young soldier was a falcon trainer, one of the most important positions in a scout unit. A falcon trainer was akin to a messenger in later times. Besides homing pigeons, the Anxi army also used falcons for communication, especially in Tocharia, where there were many falcons. Using homing pigeons for communication was very dangerous, so falcons were generally used instead. Thus, the importance of a falcon trainer became evident.

This young falcon trainer was named Wang Yiqing, a second-generation Han from Anxi. He was only twenty years old. His ancestral home was in Luoyang, but he had never been there. His greatest dream in life was to visit his hometown and marry a woman from the Eastern Capital.

Captain Zhou Bi was from Puzhou in Hedong. He had once been a scout in the local military but became a deserter due to land annexation. Four years ago, he brought his wife, children, and parents to Anxi and settled in Suiye. He owned 150 acres of land. To defend his land, he joined the army. Thanks to his excellent military skills and rich scouting experience, he was selected for the first scout battalion of the Anxi army.

This was the elite battalion of the Anxi army—the very scout battalion led by Li Qing’an back then. Those Tang soldiers who made it into this battalion were the top experts in the army. It functioned more like a high-level practical scouting school. After serving there for three years, soldiers would be sent to other units, usually promoted by at least two ranks. Zhou Bi completed his three-year service in March this year. He left as a squad leader and was assigned to the Shule army, where he became a scout captain. This time, the Tang army sent three scout squads deep into Tocharia, and he was part of one of them.

Zhou Bi took two sips of wine and said to the young merchant on guard at the entrance of the cave, “Amuti, come over and listen too. I have something to say.” The young sentinel rushed over, and everyone gathered around the fire to hear the officer’s instructions. “Tomorrow we will enter Bushi City. Our top priority is not to gather any intelligence but to ensure that we do not reveal our identities. So we must temporarily forget that we are Tang soldiers and act like merchants. Everything we do must conform to the behavior of merchants. Especially the five of us Han people, including myself, need to disguise ourselves. Additionally, there is one more crucial thing: if any of us is captured by the Tibetans, the first thing to do is to take poison and commit suicide. Your families will receive the highest honor. I hope everyone remembers this. I won’t say anything more.” Wang Yiqing secretly glanced at the palm of his hand, where there was a small vial of highly poisonous He Ding Hong. His heart pounded as he tightly grasped the vial, as if he were about to drink it. Zhou Bi glanced at him and warned him again, “Wang Yiqing, you are the one I’m most worried about. You must always remember that you are mute—unable to hear or speak. Do you understand?” Wang Yiqing looked at him blankly, making “Ah! Ah!” sounds and gesturing as if to ask, What are you talking about? The scouts around laughed, and Zhou Bi also smiled. He picked up a piece of raw chicken and pointed to the two hawks perched on the wooden box, signaling him to feed them. Wang Yiqing nodded smilingly and turned to feed the hawks. At that moment, Zhou Bi said, “Wang Yiqing, one piece of meat isn’t enough. Get another one!” Wang Yiqing turned back and waved his hand, indicating that one piece was sufficient. Zhou Bi’s expression changed drastically, and he rushed forward to slap him hard, shouting at him, “Idiot! Do you want to kill us?” Realizing his mistake, Wang Yiqing crouched down, head bowed in pain. Zhou Bi restrained his anger. After a long while, he said coldly, “This is your last chance. If you make another mistake, I’ll cut out your tongue and deafen your ears. Do you understand?” Wang Yiqing remained motionless, as if he hadn’t heard anything. Only then did Zhou Bi nod in satisfaction and turn to the others, saying, “Alright, it’s very late now. Take turns sleeping. We’ll set off at dawn tomorrow.” After giving those instructions, the two on-duty scouts guarded each fire, while the rest lay down to sleep. …

Bushi City was the second-largest city in the Tocharian region after A’huan City, located on the north bank of the Amu Darya River. With a population of over 80,000, it was famous for its thriving commerce and served as a wholesale center for goods from Tocharia. Every spring and autumn, many small merchants who could not afford to travel to the Tang Dynasty flocked here to buy rare goods from larger merchants and sell them back in their hometowns to the wealthy, earning a profit from the price difference. The people of Tocharia especially loved Tang Dynasty tea; having a cup after dinner to cut through the greasiness was considered a luxury for them.

Due to Bushi City’s important trade role, the Tubo people also attached great importance to it, stationing heavy troops there. Shangxi Dongzan, who had been appointed as the governor of Tocharia, had previously served as a high-ranking minister in Tubo. Unlike ordinary soldiers who focused only on exploitation, he emphasized Tubo’s long-term control over Tocharia. As such, he was somewhat tolerant of commerce in Bushi City, allowing merchants to trade but requiring them to pay heavy taxes. While the tax rate in Anxi was 20% per transaction, Shangxi Dongzan set it at 5%, four times higher. Those who dared to evade taxes were executed upon capture.

Thus, despite Shangxi Dongzan’s permission for trade, Tocharia’s commerce suffered greatly. Apart from those who could obtain highly profitable goods from the Tang Dynasty or the Abbasid Empire, most local small traders selling agricultural products went bankrupt, as no one could afford a 20% tax rate.

As the morning sun trembled in the cold wind, a group of merchants led by Zhou Bi arrived at the gates of Bushi City with their camel caravans. The five Han men, including Zhou Bi, had disguised themselves—darkening their faces and sticking on the curved beards typical of Tocharian men. Zhou Bi himself even wore a thick mustache. Along with traditional Tocharian attire, including wrapped hair and loose lantern pants, along with their fluent Tocharian language and behavior that resembled that of locals, it was difficult to tell they were Han.

At the city gates stood over a hundred Tubo soldiers clad in chainmail, holding long spears. All had dark faces, high cheekbones, and completely shaved foreheads, giving them a fierce appearance as they stared at passersby with eagle-like eyes.

The arrival of this group of merchants naturally became the focus of the Tubo soldiers. Next to them stood a Tubo tax collector. Since this was the first group of merchants to arrive that day, the Tubo soldiers immediately stepped forward, pointed their spears at them, and ordered in very poor Tocharian, “Stop!”

The merchants all stopped, and the Tubo soldiers rushed over, searching the ten merchants thoroughly. The Tocharians used the silver coins of Persia, as well as Anxi silver coins and copper coins, all of which were kept in personal bags. When the Tubo soldiers inspected them, they would force open the bags and let their hands rummage inside. As for whether any coins were missing, there was no need to say more. Losing a few coins was a minor issue; what was most feared was when they searched the women—almost always from head to toe, touching every private part. If it was a young and beautiful woman, she would suffer even more, so Tocharian women rarely went out. Tocharian men had the custom of carrying weapons, which the Tubo people found hard to prohibit. However, the Tubo people stipulated that knives carried on one’s person could not exceed one foot in length; those who violated this rule would be caught and whipped thirty times. Merchants traveling long distances for business were given a little more leniency, allowed to carry longer knives for self-defense. After searching the bodies, they would stab the chests and cages with spears to prevent spies from hiding inside. They didn’t care if the porcelain and silk got damaged in the process. Next came a thorough search—all goods had to be unloaded and spread out on the ground, with bundles of silk untied to prevent the concealment of weapons. At this moment, a Tubo centurion noticed the two eagles on Wang Yiqing’s shoulders. He walked over with interest, pointed at the eagles, and asked in broken Tocharian, “Are these your eagles?” Wang Yiqing looked confused. He pointed at his ears, then at his mouth, making “ah! ah!” sounds to indicate that he was deaf and mute, unable to hear or speak. Raising eagles was a popular hobby among the Tocharians, and many families kept hunting eagles, so it was normal for Tocharian men to carry them on their shoulders. But the two eagles on Wang Yiqing’s shoulders were particularly majestic and fierce, arousing envy in the Tubo officer. Yet he knew that eagles recognized their owners—even if he wanted them, he couldn’t take them, and he might even get hurt. Seeing that Wang Yiqing was deaf and mute, he lost interest and turned away, causing the people beside Wang Yiqing to break into cold sweats. After all the Tubo soldiers finished searching, the tax collector came over, accompanied by a Tocharian translator. He took a look at the goods, did some calculations in his mind, and said, “Six hundred silver coins!” That was the tax amount—meaning he estimated the value of these goods at three thousand silver coins. Zhou Bi immediately became anxious and stepped forward, clasping his hands in supplication, “Sir, please! These goods are only worth one thousand five hundred silver coins. We have tax receipts from the Tang Dynasty.”

He handed in the tax bill for Shule. The tax rate in Anxi was 20% per ten, and the bill amounted to seventy-five silver coins. Unexpectedly, the Tubo official didn’t even look at it, took it, and tore it apart in one swipe, shouting viciously, “I said six hundred silver coins! If you don’t pay, all your goods will be confiscated!”
The Toharian translator quickly translated for them and advised, “Brothers, it’s better to lose some money to avoid disaster! If your goods are confiscated, you’ll no longer be merchants. And carrying a long knife will earn you thirty lashes. Why go through that? Just accept a smaller profit!”
“It’s not just a smaller profit. If we pay six hundred silver coins, this trip will be a total loss.”
Zhou Bi said with a gloomy face, “Brother translator, please intercede for me! I’ll give you something in return.”
Before he could finish speaking, the Tubo official’s whip cracked, hitting Zhou Bi’s back with a ‘smack!’ His clothes were immediately torn. The Tubo official roared, “If you don’t pay the tax, you’re all spies!”
“We’ll pay! We’ll pay the tax!”
The whip served as the best translator. The ten merchants were terrified, their faces pale as death. They pooled their money together, barely managing to gather six hundred silver coins, which they handed over. The Tubo official counted them one by one, taking nearly half an hour to finish. Then he took out a dark iron seal and stamped it heavily on a wooden board—this was the tax receipt.
He handed the wooden board to Zhou Bi and waved his hand, saying, “Go! You can enter the city now.”
The men packed up their goods, sighed helplessly, and led their camels into the city. But after walking less than twenty steps, the Tubo officer suddenly shouted from behind, “The man with an eagle on his shoulder, stop right there!”
……