Chapter 698: Urgent Need for External Aid

The vast grasslands were now covered in green, stretching out like a giant’s arms in all directions. The azure sky was cloudless, resembling a huge, flawless glass dome that enveloped the entire world.
In the early morning, a group of cavalry rode swiftly across the endless grasslands. They could see the dark Udejin Mountains in the distance, as well as the shimmering Aokun River, which resembled a jade belt. This was the banks of the Aokun River in the heart of the grasslands.
Several major water systems, including the Aokun River, Xian’e River, and Dule River, formed a vast network of waterways in this area. The Udejin Mountains blocked the cold winds from the north, resulting in a slightly warmer climate here compared to other places. The abundant water and warm climate made this region the most fertile area in the entire Northern Desert Grasslands, with herds of cattle and sheep everywhere, and groups of horses galloping across the plains from time to time.
The cavalry accelerated their pace. As they climbed a low hill, they saw a city appear before them. They had finally arrived—Han’erduo Bali City, located on the banks of the Aokun River and also the capital of the Uyghurs.
The cavalry shouted excitedly and rushed toward Han’erduo Bali City.
It was early March in the third year of the Qingping era of the Tang Dynasty. The spring breeze had turned the grasslands green, but the crisis in Hebei forced Shi Siming to seek help from the Uyghurs.
Shi Siming decided to ask the Uyghurs for aid in early February. Spring had arrived, and he finally received confirmation that the strongholds of the Khitans and Xis had been destroyed by the Tang army during winter. The 150,000 troops stationed in Henan also took advantage of the frozen Yellow River to enter Xiangzhou. More importantly, Shi Siming learned that Tian Chengsi had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.
All these unfavorable news made Shi Siming realize that their crisis was imminent. He also knew he was guilty of many crimes. While others could surrender to the Tang Dynasty, he, Shi Siming, could not. He had no way out.
To save the situation, Shi Siming decided to seek help from the Uyghurs at any cost.
This group of cavalry was escorting Shi Siming’s son, Shi Chaoyi, to seek aid from the Uyghurs. Shi Chaoyi left Hebei through Juyong Pass in Youzhou, with three horses each. After riding for twenty days, they finally arrived at the Uyghur capital, Han’erduo Bali.
The group of fifty people slowly approached the city gates, where they were stopped by the soldiers guarding the entrance.
“We are special envoys from Hebei. We request an audience with Khan Gele!”
“Wait outside!”
A centurion shouted rudely before ordering his men to take their documents and report to their superiors.

The group waited outside the city for an hour, yet no one paid them any attention. Shi Chaoyi’s expression darkened, and he remained silent, but his trusted officer Luo Yue was furious. He said to Shi Chaoyi, “Young marshal, the Uyghurs might not be that rude. There’s no reason to make people wait outside the city for an hour.”

Shi Chaoyi waved his hand. “Even if they’re rude, we still have to wait!” He sighed again. “I think the Uyghurs are deliberately ignoring us to suppress us. It should be soon; let’s wait a bit longer!”

At that moment, a group of soldiers came out of the city. The leader was a Uyghur civil official who slowly stepped forward and bowed, asking, “Which one is Lord Shi?” He spoke in Turkic, showing no regard for Shi Chaoyi’s feelings. Fortunately, Shi Siming was Turkic, so Shi Chaoyi could understand. He quickly bowed and said, “It’s me!”

The official sized him up and nodded. “I am Julu Modagan, the deputy prime minister of the Uyghurs. Come with me into the city! Only one attendant may accompany you.”

Hearing that the man was the deputy prime minister, Shi Chaoyi was overjoyed. He didn’t care about how many people entered the city, so he turned to his subordinates and said, “Wait outside. General Luo, come with me into the city.”

He followed Julu Modagan into the city. When they reached the palace, Julu Modagan pointed at a large flag with a wolf’s head. Without saying anything else, Shi Chaoyi remembered his father telling him some Uyghur customs before leaving. Apart from everything else, when meeting the khan, one must first bow before the flag of the Wolf Khan; otherwise, it is considered extremely rude, and the khan would never meet them.

Shi Chaoyi immediately dismounted, knelt under the flag of the Wolf Khan, and bowed three times. Seeing his sincerity, Julu Modagan’s expression improved slightly. He laughed at him in Chinese and said, “Come with me into the palace! Our khan is waiting for you.”

After several years of recuperation, the Uyghurs had gradually regained their strength. Many Uyghur youths had grown into warriors, increasing their military force. The Uyghur army now numbered over a hundred thousand. Additionally, Khan Geler had worked hard over the years, amassing millions of cattle and sheep and hundreds of thousands of warhorses, fully restoring their strength.

Due to the Tang Dynasty’s trade blockade against the Uyghurs, especially the strict prohibition on transporting strategic goods like iron to the northern deserts—where such actions carried severe penalties of confiscation of property and execution—three merchants who risked selling pig iron to the Uyghurs for profit had already been executed in Chang’an. This act served as a deterrent to Tang merchants, who no longer dared to take such risks.

Although they couldn’t buy pig iron from the Tang Dynasty, the Uyghurs had managed to acquire some from the Khazar Khanate in the West since last year, using it to forge weapons and arm their knights.

By this time, the various Uyghur tribes already had 100,000 armored soldiers—strong in both men and horses. Khan Gele thus conceived a desire for revenge; they were like wolves in the grasslands, always waiting for an opportunity to avenge themselves. In fact, Khan Gele had been keeping an eye on the situation in Hebei. Through the Uyghur Pugu tribe, he provided Shi Siming with large amounts of cattle and sheep, gradually gaining control over Shi Siming’s army, for the Pugu tribe alone could not sustain Shi Siming’s hundreds of thousands of troops. Now that the situation in Hebei was becoming clearer and it was harvest time for the Uyghurs, Shi Siming’s son, Shi Chaoyi, came to seek aid. Khan Gele Moyanque was reclined on a high golden throne, with two alluring women coiling around him like snakes, feeding him cups of deep red grape wine. With a pale face, Moyanque narrowed his eyes in thought. The entire Uyghur people agreed on attacking the Tang Dynasty—years earlier, Li Qing’an had slaughtered them mercilessly in Anxi, leaving nearly every family grieving the loss of a loved one. Only by conquering the Tang Dynasty could their wounds be healed. Reason told Moyanque that he should first attack the weakened Beiting region, but he couldn’t ignore the wealth of the Central Plains. One was a rational strategy, the other his greed and desire—just like these two women beside him, on either side, making it hard for him to decide. Should he choose reason or greed? He couldn’t make up his mind. “Khan!” A guard entered and reported in a low voice, “Shi Chaoyi has arrived and is waiting outside the palace.” “Has he bowed to my Wolf Head Khan flag?” Moyanque asked slowly. “He has, with great respect.” “Good! Let him come in to see me.” Soon, several guards brought Shi Chaoyi into the palace, while the general Luo Yue was forbidden from entering and left outside. Shi Chaoyi entered the carpeted hall, knelt before the steps, bowed to Khan Gele, and said humbly, “Your servant Shi Chaoyi pays his respects to the Heavenly Khan!” “A servant?” Moyanque suddenly burst into loud laughter, laughing so heartily, so arrogantly. Shi Chaoyi felt extreme pain. His father had demanded that he be loyal like a dog, humble like dust, in order to arouse the Uyghur khan’s compassion. But when he acted in such a lowly manner, he felt as though his heart was bleeding. Moyanque was satisfied with his attitude. He thought Shi Siming was sensible enough to realize that he was the true master, the one who sustained him. Waving his hand, he said, “‘Heavenly Khan’ is a title for the Tang emperor. Since I haven’t yet destroyed the Tang Dynasty, I don’t deserve this title. Get up!” “Yes!”

Shi Chaoyi stood up, standing respectfully with his hands hanging down. Moyan Chuo glanced at him and then asked, “How many troops do you have now, excluding the Puge tribe—just your own troops?”
“Your Majesty, we have 120,000.”
“Hmm! How many of them are Han people?”
“There are very few Han people, less than 10,000. The main ones are Turks who used to be under the Tang Dynasty, along with some Khitans and Goryeo people.”
After a pause, Shi Chaoyi added, “We also control over 200,000 Han civilians.”
Moyan Chuo wasn’t interested in the Han civilians at this moment. He was calculating Shi Siming’s forces—50,000 from the Puge tribe, 120,000 under Shi Siming. Subtracting a few outsiders left 100,000. Adding his own 100,000 cavalry troops, he would have a total of 250,000 soldiers. With such a force, mainly composed of Turkic and Uyghur cavalry from the steppes, he could easily sweep through the Tang Dynasty.
He had made up his mind, but his face showed no emotion as he lazily asked, “So, why did your father send you to see me? Does he want me to provide food and supplies?”
“No! That’s not it!”
Shi Chaoyi hurriedly replied, “I’m not here for food and supplies. Li Guangbi’s 150,000 troops have already entered Hebei. Tian Chengsi’s 70,000 troops have switched allegiance to the Tang Dynasty. Li Siye’s 70,000 troops have entered Jingxing. And Li Baozhen’s 100,000 troops are about to march south into Hebei. We’re surrounded on all sides and in extreme danger.”
Shi Chaoyi was extremely anxious. It seemed as if he could see the Tang troops approaching the city of Youzhou. In desperation, he knelt down again, spread his hands, and pleaded loudly, “Great Khan, I beg you—send troops to help us! We know you’ve always been helping us.”
This was exactly the effect Moyan Chuo wanted. He wanted to see whether Shi Siming would surrender to him or to the Tang Dynasty. It seemed Shi Siming wanted to surrender to him—he was at his wits’ end.
“Very well! I can send troops to help you, but what can you offer me? Land? Wealth? Children?”
“We can give you everything we have. If you want land, we’ll give you Hebei. If you want wealth and children, we can give you Hebei’s treasuries and over 200,000 people.”
Moyan Chuo still shook his head. “As you said yourself, hundreds of thousands of Tang troops have entered Hebei. Can you still rule Hebei? No! I don’t want your land, nor your wealth or children. I don’t care about them.”
“Then what do you want?” A ominous premonition arose in Shi Chaoyi’s heart.

“I have known Shi Siming for many years; he is also a Turk. How about this! You can form your own tribe, be given time to recover and grow stronger, and then take revenge on the Tang army later, what do you say?”
Shi Chaoyi knew that this was essentially a way to force them to surrender to the Uyghurs. Under normal circumstances, he would never agree, but before leaving, his father had told him that as long as their lives could be saved, he could agree to any terms, including surrendering to the Uyghurs.
With no other choice, Shi Chaoyi bowed deeply and said, “We are willing to pledge loyalty to the khan!”
“Good!” Moyanque pushed the two women beside him aside, stood up, and laughed loudly, “Then I will immediately send troops against the Tang Dynasty!”
At that moment, Moyanque abandoned his strategy for Beiting; his heart was ultimately conquered by greed and desire.
…
In Zhending City of Hengzhou, tens of thousands of Tang troops were fiercely attacking this fortified city.
Li Siye led 70,000 Tang troops into Hebei via Jingxing and was first met by Pugu Yao, a general of the Uyghurs. Pugu Yao was the son of Pugu Huaien and had once been a general in Shuofang. After his father Pugu Huaien was forced by Li Qingan to go to the Uyghurs, Pugu Yao also abandoned his position in Shuofang’s army and fled back to the Uyghurs, becoming one of their key commanders. He led 20,000 Uyghur troops to defend Yizhou and encountered a massive attack from Li Siye’s army.
The Tang troops crossed Jingxing lightly, successfully launching a surprise attack on Jingxing County, and then engaged in a fierce battle with the Uyghurs in Lucheng County. The Uyghur army was defeated, suffering heavy casualties.
Pugu Yao retreated to Zhending County and assembled 13,000 elite troops. Relying on the sturdy city walls of Zhending County, they resisted the Tang army.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” The drums of the attacking Tang army echoed loudly as their troops, like an army of ants, plunged into the brutal siege.
This was already the fourth attack. In the previous three attempts, the Tang army had sent 40,000 troops to attack the city, but all attempts failed, resulting in nearly 6,000 casualties—rare losses for the Tang army in recent years.
The Uyghurs were not good at defending cities, but Pugu Yao was a skilled general. Under his command, the Uyghur army’s defense became highly organized, with high morale and brave soldiers.
Arrows rained down from the city walls. Although the range of the Uyghur archers was not far and far shorter than that of the Tang army, their advantage in height gave their arrows significant impact. What caused even greater casualties to the Tang army were the wooden beams and stones thrown down from the walls. Huge logs and stones, weighing hundreds of pounds, were hurled down by Uyghur soldiers, often wiping out entire groups of soldiers on a staircase, inflicting heavy losses on the Tang army.

Dozens of ladders had been set up on the city walls. The dense ranks of Tang soldiers, wielding shields and climbing up the ladders, launched fierce attacks, while those below provided cover with arrows—so numerous they were like swarms of locusts—forcing the Uyghur troops to keep their heads down. From time to time, soldiers on the walls fell screaming. Although the Uyghur archers were under pressure from the Tang forces, the Tang still held a disadvantage in the battle for the walls.

In front of each ladder, dozens of Uyghur soldiers crowded together, using large shields and spears to block the Tang soldiers trying to climb in. At that moment, four Uyghur soldiers carried up a huge log about ten feet long and two feet in diameter. Finding an opening, they hurled the log down the ladder. Cries of pain filled the air as more than twenty soldiers on the ladder were crushed and tumbled down.

The Uyghur soldiers rejoiced and used long forks to lift the ladders, slowly pushing them away from the city walls. The tall ladders eventually toppled over, and the last two Tang soldiers on them fell out screaming.

Not only this ladder but most of the others were severely damaged—some broken by boulders, others cut apart by Uyghur swords. The Tang’s fourth attack had already cost them over two thousand casualties.

Two miles away, Li Siyue, the Tang commander observing the battle, was so enraged that his eyes seemed to blaze with fire. He was filled with extreme regret. This siege lacked heavy siege engines such as scaling ladders, battering rams, and siege towers. The narrow stone path at Jingxing allowed only one horse to pass at a time, making it impossible to transport supplies.

Yet Li Siyue had made a grave mistake by underestimating the enemy. In his bid to seize Jingxing County, he ordered his troops to march lightly, abandoning all supplies. Although they captured Jingxing by surprise, he left behind their most powerful weapons—Thunder Cracker and fire oil—in the supply camp, not taking them with them.

He hadn’t anticipated encountering the Uyghur army’s defensive tactics. Over the years, he had never associated the Uyghurs with siege warfare. He had forgotten that their commander, Pugu Yao, was renowned for his defensive strategies in Shuofang.

The unprepared siege cost the Tang army dearly.

At that moment, Li Siyue’s deputy, Wei Boyu, advised him, “General, why not pause the attack for a few days? The soldiers are already fetching Thunder Cracker; it should arrive in two or three days at the latest.”

“No!” Li Siyue refused firmly. “If we delay another two days, Li Guangbi will capture Youzhou City. This is the last battle for the Tang to regain control of Hebei. If I can’t even take a small county like Zhending, how can I avoid being laughed at by everyone in the land?”

He turned around and ordered, “Beat the drums! I will personally don my armor and lead the attack!”

The officers around him were shocked and urged him, “General, you are the commander of the army. How can you lead the attack personally?”
“You must not try to dissuade me!”
Li Siyeh angrily rebuked his generals, “I, Li Siyeh, have been in the army since the first year of the Tianbao era. I’ve always charged at the front in every battle and never fallen behind. If the attack on the city fails today, it is my responsibility. How can I not take the lead?”
The others continued to plead with him, “In the past, you were just a low-ranking officer, so it was understandable for you to take the lead. But now that you have risen to the rank of General of the Cavalry and Duke of Guo, how can you risk your life amidst arrows? Please think carefully!”
No matter how they tried to persuade him, Li Siyeh refused to listen. He put on heavy armor, took his halberd from his bodyguards, and led five thousand soldiers in an attack on the city.
…
The loud drums of the Tang army’s attack rang out again. Ten thousand Tang soldiers surged forward like a tide, carrying over thirty ladders toward the city. This time, with General Li Siyeh leading the way, the Tang army’s morale soared. A deluge of arrows was shot at the city walls, rendering the Uyghur soldiers’ bows ineffective. Thousands of Uyghur soldiers on the walls were trapped, unable to lift their heads.
“Boom!” The thick ladders were set up on the city walls. More than two thousand Tang soldiers climbed up the ladders, stepping over their comrades’ corpses, and began bravely scaling the walls. The Uyghur army fought desperately, throwing huge stones down the ladders.
Seeing the Tang soldiers being knocked back and falling off the walls by the continuous stones, Li Siyeh became furious. He chose the point on the wall with the most corpses and was the first to climb the wooden ladder, which was made of sturdy fir wood. Wearing heavy armor and holding a large iron shield in one hand and his halberd in the other, he climbed step by step toward the top of the wall.
A huge stone whistled down and struck the iron shield with a loud crash. Li Siyeh trembled but wasn’t knocked over. He deflected the stone with his shield and climbed a few more steps. At that moment, arrows rained down on him like a storm. The sound of arrows hitting his armor filled the air, but they couldn’t penetrate it. With a loud shout, he rushed to the top of the ladder and swung his halberd in one swift motion, cutting four Uyghur soldiers into pieces before they could dodge.
Li Siyeh then threw away his shield and swung his halberd with both hands. Blood mist filled the air as pieces of flesh flew everywhere. In an instant, over twenty Uyghur soldiers were killed by him.

But the spot where Li Siyeh intended to climb the wall was guarded by a formidable Uyghur army. Seeing the Tang generals about to scale the wall, the Uyghur soldiers, enraged, charged forward without hesitation. Hundreds of them blocked the path Li Siyeh needed to climb, and chaos ensued with cries of battle filling the air. Li Siyeh slashed with his sword, while arrows rained down from below. Dead bodies piled up like mountains both inside and outside the city, yet the Uyghur soldiers fought desperately, using their corpses to block the paths, preventing Li Siyeh from reaching the city walls.

At that moment, the Uyghur commander Pugu Yao also arrived after hearing the news. He immediately recognized Li Siyeh, the god-like general and Li Qing’an’s most trusted commander. His father, Pugu Huai’en, had also suffered at Li Siyeh’s hands in Anxi in the past. Pugu Yao drew a poison arrow capable of piercing armor. He knew that the soldiers armed with heavy swords were almost impervious to weapons, but their eyes could not be covered—this was their weakness. He drew his bow, aimed at Li Siyeh from thirty steps away, stretched the bow to full tension, and released the arrow, which shot like lightning toward Li Siyeh’s left eye. At that moment, Li Siyeh had just beheaded a commander; the poison arrow struck his eye before he could react. With a loud scream, he fell off the city wall. Pugu Yao shouted triumphantly, “Li Siyeh is dead at my hands!”

Cheers erupted on the city walls. Seeing their commander fall, the Tang soldiers lost heart to fight. Dozens of loyal guards fought desperately to carry the severely injured Li Siyeh back to their camp. Wei Boyu ordered the cessation of the siege and temporarily directed the Tang forces to retreat to Lucheng County. That night, Li Siyeh died in his camp due to the effects of the poison. Thus ended the career of this great general.

The entire army mourned, and the camp was draped in black. Li Siyeh’s son, Li Zuoguo, rushed to Chang’an overnight to report the tragedy to the imperial court. Although the attack on Hengzhou was unsuccessful, Li Guangbi led a main force of 200,000 troops forward with unstoppable momentum, reaching Mo County, which was close to Youzhou. His vanguard commander, Li Riyue, had already entered Youzhou, while Li Baozhen led 60,000 troops from Pingzhou into Jizhou. Two days later, the Uyghur general Pugu Adosi was defeated by Li Baozhen at Yuyang and fled back to the grasslands with his remaining troops from Tanzhou. Realizing that the Tang army’s retaliation would be fierce, Pugu Yao also abandoned Zhending City and fled northward to the grasslands via Yizhou.

With the Uyghur army retreating, Shi Siming also understood that the situation was lost. He allowed his soldiers to plunder Youzhou City, leaving it completely empty. On March 20th, Shi Siming led 100,000 Turkic troops out of Hebei through Juyong Pass. From then on, the entire region of Hebei was restored.

But the battle was not over. On the contrary, Shi Siming retreated northward, setting the stage for an even larger battle. One hundred thousand Uyghur cavalry were charging south from the depths of the grasslands, with the banners of Khan Wolfhead fluttering in the wind.
……
(In history, Li Siye died in Xiangzhou in the second year of Qianyuan, also from an arrow wound, and Pugu Yao was also a fierce general of the Tang Dynasty; here, he is portrayed as a villain.)