Chapter 514: Deception and Betrayal

The Battle of Busi City ended in bloodshed. The Tibetan army refused to surrender—some fought in street battles inside the city, while others fled outside only to be brutally slaughtered by the Tang forces. Out of the 40,000 Tibetan troops, over 30,000 were killed, with less than 500 managing to escape. Their commander, Lun Xizhu, was killed by stray arrows while trying to break through.

The Tang forces killed 3,000 enemies at the cost of 800 of their own, with another 5,000 to 6,000 wounded. Compared to their glorious victory, these losses were insignificant. The Tang forces achieved success in their first campaign, seizing control of the land on the north bank of the Amu Darya River.

With an additional 20,000 troops arriving from the Jiesu Kingdom, Li Qing’an left 10,000 men to defend Busi City. He led 90,000 troops across the Amu Darya River from Damo City and entered the Great Khanate. His forces were stationed along the lines of Huolu City and Tiwei City, confronting the main Tibetan army.

That afternoon, a 200-man Tang patrol was scouting the desert north of the Great Khanate—a desert adjacent to the Amu Darya River. Although the desert in March wasn’t as scorching as in summer, the intense sunlight made it hard to keep one’s eyes open.

The patrol was led by a brigade commander named Ami Zharik, a Sogdian from Anguo. In his thirties, he practiced Zoroastrianism and was known for his integrity, honesty, and competence. Whenever his subordinates faced difficulties, he would use his own salary to help them, earning him great popularity among both soldiers and officers.

As a child, Zharik’s family was captured and taken to Syria as slaves, where he grew up and became a blacksmith. He later married a Sogdian slave woman and had a daughter. Soon, the Abbasid army captured Damascus, killing his parents, wife, and daughter. Accused of producing weapons for the army and being a Zoroastrian, he was exiled to work as a slave miner in the silver mines of the Bosphorus Mountains. Under the oppression of the Arabs, he mined day and night, witnessing countless comrades die in miserable conditions. He knew he would eventually meet the same fate in the mine.

But the arrival of the Tang army freed him and incorporated them into the Silver Mine Army; he too became a soldier in the Anxi Army. Over time, most of the Silver Mine Army soldiers retired and returned to their homes. Zalik, with his parents, wife, and children all killed by the Arabs, had no home left, so he regarded the Anxi Army as his home and continued to serve there. Gradually, he rose from a soldier to a platoon leader, then to a company commander, and last year was promoted to brigade commander, also receiving the honorary title of a eighth-rank Xuanjie Deputy Lieutenant. A brigade commander was equivalent to a company commander in later times, belonging to the middle-to-low rank of officers. Although his military rank was not high, Zalik was already satisfied. What pleased him even more was that the Anxi Army promoted people based on military achievements, without discriminating against him because he was a blue-eyed, high-nosed barbarian. After a few more years of combat, he could be promoted to a colonel.

The Anxi Army encouraged intermarriage between Han and barbarians. Due to continuous warfare, there was a severe shortage of men in the River Region, with significantly more women than men. Many Han soldiers of the Tang army married barbarian women and settled in the River Region. Similarly, some barbarian officers and soldiers married Han women, saved up some money, and started new lives.

Since Zalik had favorable conditions, many Han officers and soldiers were willing to introduce a Han woman to him as a wife so he could start a new family. But Zalik missed his deceased wife and children and had sworn never to marry again, whether it was a Han or a barbarian woman—he would never remarry.

Zalik led two hundred soldiers on a march westward through the desert. After traveling north for a short distance, they left the desert and entered the Gobi Desert by the Amu Darya River. After climbing a sand dune, a soldier suddenly pointed ahead and shouted, “Brigade commander, look over there!”

Everyone looked in the northwest direction and saw a group of small black dots moving eastward on the Gobi Desert near the Amu Darya River. Clearly, those were camels. The Tang army also had supply camels, but they were at least large groups of several thousand. A small group of a hundred or so camels could not belong to the Tang army.

“Let’s go! Go take a look.”

The soldiers spurred their warhorses, rushed down the sand dune, and headed straight for the group of black dots. As they got closer, they saw that the camels were loaded with goods—it turned out to be a merchant caravan.

The merchants also noticed the Tang army. Panicked, they turned around to flee, but the Tang army’s horses were extremely fast and quickly blocked their escape route, surrounding them completely. They shouted loudly, “Where are you merchants from?”

The merchants stopped. Most of them were dressed in white robes and were Arabs. Zariq hated Arabs deeply. Every time he saw them, he couldn’t help but think of his parents and family who had died under Arab oppression. His face darkened immediately, and he asked in Arabic, “Where are you from? Where are you going?”
A middle-aged Arab man stepped forward and said anxiously, “We’re from Egypt. We’re taking some cotton cloth to A’huan City. We go there every year.”
“Egypt?”
As a youth, Zariq had traveled to Egypt with his master and lived in Alexandria for four years, so he was very familiar with Egypt. He noticed that this Arab didn’t have an Egyptian accent but rather one from southern Khorasan, which made him suspicious. But this doubt passed through his mind in an instant, and he set it aside for now. He then asked, “Don’t you know that A’huan City has been occupied by the Tubo people?”
“Sir, we’ve heard about it. We heard the taxes are high, but cotton cloth is in high demand in A’huan City and can be sold at a good price. So even with some taxes, we can still make a profit.”
“Hmph! You’re quite confident.”
Zariq waved his hand and ordered his soldiers, “Inspect them!”
Tang army soldiers rode up on their horses and poked at the boxes and bags with their spears. The merchants cried out in pain, “It will damage the cotton cloth!”
The Tang army ordered them to take out all their goods and spread them out for thorough inspection, including their tax payments and identification. Zariq watched the middle-aged man closely. Panic flashed in the man’s eyes from time to time, arousing Zariq’s suspicion. The man had only two camels and brought over twenty bundles of cotton cloth. Although cotton cloth took up a lot of space, it wasn’t expensive. Those twenty bundles could be sold for at most forty silver coins. After deducting half the taxes, he would only make twenty silver coins. Coming from Egypt over such a long distance, those twenty silver coins might not even cover the cost of travel—this seemed unreasonable.
Zariq grew even more suspicious. He smiled calmly and said, “I heard that Egyptians grow cotton by the Nile River and don’t start harvesting until July or August. If you’re bringing cotton now, how can you make a profit?”
The merchant agreed, smiling, “We bought the cotton cloth last August and have been storing it until now, so we can sell it at a high price.”
“Is that so? In July and August, everyone is busy in the fields. Who has time to spin cotton cloth? You must be mistaken!”
“Hehe! I’m not mistaken. Although everyone is busy in the fields at that time, women spin cotton cloth at home, so it’s still possible to get cotton cloth.”

Zarik’s expression changed. July and August were the peak seasons for the Nile River to flood, submerging the land and making it impossible to farm. Egypt’s cotton was harvested in April and May. This man was lying; he had never been to Egypt at all.
Zarik suddenly smiled at him in Arabic and said, “I know now—you’re a spy from the Abbasids!”
The middle-aged man kept nodding with a smile on his face, as if Zarik’s words made perfect sense. Zarik stepped back two paces and shouted, “These are all spies! Capture them all!”
The middle-aged man understood these words. His face turned pale, and he turned his horse around to flee. After running just over twenty steps, Zarik drew his bow and shot an arrow that hit the back leg of his horse. The horse fell, throwing the man more than ten feet away. Before he could get up, Zarik rode over, pressed his spear against the man’s throat, and said coldly, “Be honest, or you’ll die here!”
……
Inside the Tang army camp, Li Qing’an was discussing the situation in Chang’an with Du Hongjian, who had just returned from Suiye carrying supplies. Li Qing’an had received an urgent report from Suiye the day before, learning that drastic changes had taken place in Chang’an—Li Heng had seized the throne by force, while An Lushan had established a new emperor in Youzhou and proclaimed himself Right Prime Minister.
Since leaving Chang’an, Li Qing’an had known such an outcome would happen. Li Heng’s desire for the throne had made him abandon all human decency; he had already killed his own son and grandson. A man like him might succeed temporarily, but he couldn’t last long. The resistance of the officials was the best proof of this.
“General, the officials in Anxi are all hoping the war against Toharistan will end soon, so that you can return to Chang’an as soon as possible.”
Du Hongjian smiled shyly. As an official in Anxi, if Li Qing’an ascended the throne, he would surely appoint officials from the Anxi faction—this was the hope of all the Anxi officials, including Du Hongjian.
Li Qing’an smiled slightly and said, “The war against Toharistan won’t last long. The Tibetans have no solid foundation. With the opposition of the Toharians, they can hold out at most another month before facing a food crisis. By then, I’ll win without fighting. Don’t worry. Once the war in Toharistan subsides, I’ll return to Chang’an right away to deal with that mess.”
“But we’re worried. If time goes on, Li Heng’s position will become more secure, and many problems may arise.”
“If it weren’t for the Qianniu Guard and the Anxi army in Chang’an, the ministers might submit to Li Heng’s tyranny. But as long as I have my Qianniu Guard, those ministers won’t submit to him. The longer it goes on, the greater his danger will become. I’m not worried at all.”

“That’s good. I hope the great general will return victorious soon.”
As the two were talking, a report came from outside suddenly, “General, the Tang army’s patrol has captured a spy from the Arabs.”
“Is that so?”
Li Qing’an was overjoyed and quickly said, “Bring him in at once!”
A moment later, Zharik and over a dozen bodyguards led the middle-aged man into the tent. The man was tightly bound and forced to kneel on the ground.
Zharik knelt on one knee and reported, “Zharik, the deputy commander of the Third Scout Battalion of the Suiye Army, greets the great general.”
He took out a letter and presented it with both hands, saying, “General, this is a letter found on the spy. Please take a look.”
Li Qing’an took the letter and frowned. The handwriting seemed similar to Mansur’s, but it was written in Arabic with a Tibetan translation below—both of which Li Qing’an couldn’t understand.
At that moment, Zharik understood Li Qing’an’s thoughts and said, “General, I understand Arabic and can speak Tibetan. I’m willing to translate it for you.”
“I didn’t expect you to know four languages. That’s impressive!”
Zharik took the letter and smiled sheepishly, saying, “General, I actually know six languages, including Turkic and Egyptian.”
“Is that so? I never thought there were such talented people hidden in my army.”
Li Qing’an patted his shoulder and said with a smile, “Read it to me.”
With a wave of his hand, the soldiers took the Arab spy away. Li Qing’an then stood by the window with his hands behind his back.
“From Mansur, Caliph of the Abbasid Empire, to General Shangxi Dongzan: Today, the Tang and Tibetan armies are engaged in a fierce battle. My 70,000-strong army in Khorasan watches from the sidelines. The Tang army has fought against ours for years. I know well their military strength, as well as Li Qing’an’s profound strategies and exceptional wisdom. It’s likely that the Tibetans alone won’t be able to defeat the Tang army or Li Qing’an. Allah often says that all people under heaven are brothers. I am willing to regard the Tibetans as brothers and work together with General Shangxi Dongzan to fight against the Tang army…”
A faint smile appeared on Li Qing’an’s lips. It was rare for Mansur to think so highly of him. He understood Mansur’s intentions better than anyone else. At that moment, Li Qing’an glanced at Zharik thoughtfully.
…
Inside Ahuan City, General Shangxi Dongzan of the Tibetan army had already received news of the devastating defeat at Bushi City. He flew into a rage, drew his sword, and began slashing wildly around the room, leaving it in tatters. Finally, he threw the sword onto the ground and collapsed heavily into a chair, the chair creaking loudly.

Shangxi Dongzan pressed his forehead. The defeat at Bushi City had left him distraught—40,000 of his men had been wiped out by the Tang forces, reducing his army to 60,000, while Shang Jiasu now had 80,000 troops, far surpassing him.

Now, Shangxi Dongzan was deeply worried. He had figured out the Tang strategy: to concentrate their superior forces and gradually isolate and eliminate them. 40,000 men had been annihilated in this way, and next would be his 60,000 troops.

Although the Tubo army had the upper hand, they were exploited by the Tang forces because they couldn’t concentrate their forces. If the defeat at Bushi City was due to his greed in refusing to give up territory, then his current weakness in troops was a result of internal strife among the Tubo army.

After the king’s death, he sent people back to Luoshe to report the situation, only to find that Baluh had already been captured by the Tang forces, who had cut off their route home. This made Shangxi Dongzan even more terrified. The Tang forces surrounded them in Khotan like filling a bag.

Of course, they could retreat south to India, but that was their last resort. Unless forced, he didn’t want to give up Khotan. Anyway, he needed to talk to Shang Jiasu—they had to unite; together they could benefit, but apart, they would both suffer.

Just then, a soldier reported from outside, “General, an envoy from the Abbasids has arrived and requests to see you!”

Shangxi Dongzan was startled. An Abbasid envoy had come. His mind shifted, and suddenly he understood. He quickly said, “Bring him in at once!”

A moment later, two Abbasid envoys dressed in white were led in by Tubo soldiers. The leader stepped forward, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed respectfully. In fluent Tubo, he said, “I am Ami Zarik, the tax officer of Damascus, a servant of Caliph Mansur. I am here in Khotan by order of His Majesty the Caliph.”