Chapter 83: Human Traffickers

The clash between the ten thousand cavalry and the Jinyiwei in the Eastern Market was like a stone thrown into an ancient well—there was a loud “thud,” and then silence, as if nothing had happened.
Yet one effect was quite clear: the Jinyiwei patrol soldiers, seeing the cavalry from the Nine Gates approaching from afar, immediately took cover. The cavalry from the Nine Gates stood even straighter and spoke in a more aggressive tone.
That afternoon, Li Qing’an, as usual, led a hundred cavalrymen on patrol through the various districts. Just as he reached the entrance of Pingkang District, suddenly, an old man rushed out crying and knelt before Li Qing’an’s horse. “General, please save my daughter!”
Li Qing’an gave Li Feiyuanli, who was beside him, a subtle glance. Li Feiyuanli immediately dismounted and slapped his chest, saying, “Speak! Which bastard took your daughter? Old Li will help you get her back.”
“General, it was those green-eyed foreign merchants who abducted her.”
“Foreign merchants?” Li Feiyuanli was stunned for a moment before bursting into anger. “Damn it! Those green-eyed dogs dare to kidnap women from our Tang Dynasty! Are they tired of living? Tell me, when was she taken?”
“This morning. Two foreign merchants came to my shop to buy 200 steamed buns, asking me to deliver them to their residence in Persia. I didn’t realize it was a trick, so I sent my daughter there. But once she went, she never returned. I’m frantic, searching everywhere, but they’re gone—those foreigners must have taken her.”
Li Qing’an pondered for a moment before ordering two soldiers, “Go to that residence in Persia and find out which foreign merchants it is and when they left.”
The two soldiers immediately rushed toward the Eastern Market and returned soon after. “General, two groups of foreign merchants left Chang’an today. One group was wine merchants from Gaochang, and the other was merchants from Kangguo. The Gaochang merchants left early in the morning, while those from Kangguo left at noon.”
“That’s right! It’s the merchants from Kangguo,” the old man said excitedly. “They said they were foreign merchants from Lingxi.”
“Chase after them!”
Li Qing’an turned his horse around and galloped westward, with the hundred cavalrymen following him like a gust of wind sweeping through the streets.
When Li Qing’an reached the Jinguang Gate, he shouted, “Have any foreign merchants left the city?”
“Yes! Half an hour ago, a group of Kangguo merchants left the city.”
Li Qing’an whipped his horse hard, and it rushed westward along the official road. The merchants from Kangguo usually traveled by camel, carrying goods from the Tang Dynasty, so they wouldn’t be very fast.

A hundred cavalry riders sped along the wide official road, their hooves thundering and dust billowing, creating a terrifying presence that forced the people on the road to scatter to the sides. At high speed, after fifteen minutes, they spotted a caravan in the distance—three or four hundred camels along with dozens of horses, all loaded with goods from the Tang Dynasty. The Tang troops immediately sped up to chase after them. It was a Sogdian merchant caravan from Samarkand in the Kingdom of Kang, consisting of over a hundred Sogdians, carrying gems, silverware, and spices from the West. They had traveled thousands of miles to the Tang Dynasty to exchange them for porcelain, silk, and tea, and now they were on their way back to Kang. Suddenly, realizing that a large group of Tang troops was approaching from behind, the foreign merchants pulled their camels to the side to make way for the Tang troops. However, a few Sogdians appeared panicked; they turned their backs, unwilling to face the Tang troops. In an instant, the cavalry caught up. With a wave of his hand, Li Qing’an ordered the hundred cavalry to surround them in a fan formation. Li Fei Yuanli stepped forward and shouted, “Unload all the goods and allow inspection!” The foreign merchants complained loudly, but none dared refuse. They had no choice but to unload their goods from the camels. At that moment, those few Sogdians quietly led a few camels carrying large boxes to the far edge. Yet their subtle movements didn’t escape Li Qing’an’s notice. Pointing at those fierce-looking foreigners with his silver staff, he ordered, “Go and inspect those camels at the edge.” Dozens of Tang soldiers rushed forward and grabbed the reins of the horses and camels. One foreign merchant quickly tried to appease them with a smile, saying, “Sir, these are all silk. Please be lenient.” As he spoke, he took out a handful of Persian gold coins and handed them to the leading officer, who slapped the coins out of his hand and snapped, “Unload them now!” The Tang soldiers swarmed forward, unloaded the boxes from the camels, and pried them open with knives. The faces of the few foreign merchants on horseback turned pale as they stepped back several steps. Two of the fierce-looking merchants quickly exchanged glances. A soldier pulled back a piece of silk covering one of the boxes and was shocked. He turned around and shouted, “General, we’ve found them!” Li Qing’an dismounted and walked over quickly. Peering into the box, he saw two young women curled up inside, both unconscious. “General, there are more over here!” “General, there are two more girls over here too!” Boxes were found in more than a dozen places. The sudden turn of events caused the foreign merchants to cry out in shock. None of them had expected there to be human traffickers among their group. Li Qing’an’s face turned dark as iron. With a wave of his hand, he ordered, “Take everyone back.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the two barbarian merchants swiftly drew their daggers from their saddles, cut the reins in the Tang soldiers’ hands, and rode westward in panic. The Tang soldiers, enraged, mounted their horses and chased after them. Li Qing’an also ran back to his warhorse, mounted it, and took off his black bow.

Dozens of Tang soldiers followed Li Qing’an in pursuit of the two barbarians. At that moment, a group of people arrived from afar, with two wagons in the middle. Most of them were young men, dressed brightly and full of energy—clearly the sons of nobles returning from an outing.

Seeing people rushing towards them carelessly, they stepped aside. By then, the Tang soldiers had closed in to 150 steps away. They shouted loudly, “Hurry up and stop those thieves ahead!”

Li Qing’an suddenly recognized the young man at the head of the group as Li Chu, the Prince of Guangping. A sense of danger flashed through his mind. He immediately drew his bow to full tension and released an arrow that shot like lightning, hitting one of the men in the back. Realizing the situation was critical, the two barbarians almost simultaneously charged at the caravan. Just then, the arrow struck one of the barbarians who was about to pounce on Li Chu, piercing him through. The barbarian merchant screamed in pain and fell off his horse.

Li Chu’s bodyguards immediately panicked and rushed forward to protect the young prince. But this created a gap in defense for the wagons behind. Another barbarian seized the opportunity, jumped off his horse, smashed the window, and rushed into the wagon.

Shrieks of women came from inside the wagon. The bodyguards, furious, drew their swords and charged at the wagon. At that moment, the door was kicked open. The barbarian wrapped his arm around a girl’s neck, pointed a dagger at her chest, and shouted, “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kill her!”

The girl’s face turned pale, her eyes filled with terror. The bodyguards stopped abruptly and stepped back nervously. By then, Li Qing’an had also arrived. The girl cried out as soon as she saw him, “Brother Li, save me!”

Li Qing’an held back his warhorse. The girl was none other than Du Gu Mingzhu.