The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 442 The Legendary Merchant
When talking about Murong Shun, we have to talk about the battle when the Tang Dynasty attacked Tuyuhun. At that time, the Tuyuhun king died, leaving behind his son Murong Shun.

However, Murong Shun's identity was very special. He was the only merchant among the Western Regions who had connections with Jingzhao Prefecture. After the defeat of King Gaochang, this man disappeared for a while.

However, there are still rumors about him in the Western Regions. Perhaps when his family business reached a certain level, he no longer took the initiative to approach others to trade.

Rumor has it that Murong Shun now has many children in the Western Regions.

Di Renjie took the customs documents handed over by the other party, checked them carefully, and asked: "You are a businessman with a great reputation in the Western Regions. What are you doing in Suiye City?"

Murong Shun bowed and said, "There are so many talented people gathered in Suiye City now, of course I want to come and take a look."

This man's relationship with Jingzhao Prefecture is a secret, and now many people in the court have almost forgotten the existence of such a merchant.

Most of the records about him are in the Ministry of Rites and Jingzhao Prefecture.

Since coming to the Western Regions after the imperial examination, Di Renjie didn't know much about this person.

Murong Shun looked at the present-day Suiye City and said, "I heard that the Arabs crossed the Amu Darya River."

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie looked surprised and asked, "They came so quickly?"

Murong Shun stroked his graying beard and said, "Not so fast. Even after crossing the Amu Darya River, they still can't reach Suiye City so quickly. The Arabs still have to pass through Kangguo, Dayuan, and Baishui City. They won't reach Suiye City so quickly. They are thousands of miles away, so they shouldn't panic."

Di Renjie frowned and asked, "Do you know this place well?"

"I have children here too, and they are scattered all over the Pamir Mountains."

“Your children are Sogdians?”

"My child is not a Sogdian, but a naturalized merchant from the Anxi Protectorate. After the defeat of the King of Gaochang, I took in many people who were stranded in the Western Regions. Most of them were orphans and widows in the Western Regions, and I raised their children."

Di Renjie led his men into the royal palace of Suiye City and brought them to Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui.

Murong Shun took out a map from his arms. After spreading it out, a very detailed map of Congling was in front of him.

Pei Xingjian learned the other party's identity and looked at Pei Yan beside him. Pei Yan brought a... remarkable person.

This person has been operating in the Western Regions for nearly twenty years and has many connections.

Murong Shun maintained a polite smile and said, "This is a map drawn by the Chang'an Literature Museum."

Xue Rengui slammed the table and said, "Great! With this map, we can travel across the Congling Mountains."

"General." Murong Shun bowed again and said, "The terrain of Congling is complicated. We still need to be more cautious."

At the invitation of the Tang generals, Murong Shun settled down in Suiye City. After he arrived in Suiye City, more and more Western merchants followed him here. They brought wine, even cotton clothes and more tea to the Tang army.

More and more people from the Western Regions came to help the Tang army attack the Pamir Hu people. It was an unprecedented event and made the cold city of Suiye extremely lively.

Murong Shun explained: "This is a great honor for the people of the Western Regions. Serving the Heavenly Khan is the most honorable thing in the world."

Li Zhi noticed Bai Fang's expression and asked, "Are you jealous?"

Bai Fang was puzzled and asked, "How can this person have such a network of contacts?"

Pei Xingjian sat leisurely on the side and said, "I warned you not to be arrogant back then. There are many people in this world who are more powerful than you."

Bai Fang nodded and said, "I want to be like Qibi Heli. I am not a businessman."

Pei Xingjian smiled silently.

Bai Fang once thought that he was the most powerful person from the Western Regions, but when he saw Murong Shun coming here with hundreds of Western Regions merchants and providing an endless supply of supplies, Bai Fang felt frustrated.

It turned out that he was not the only person from the Western Regions who supported the Tang Dynasty and was loyal to the Heavenly Khan.

Judging from the relationship, Murong Shun had had dealings with Jingzhao Prefecture very early on, and he was one of the first people to support the crown prince at that time, who is now the Heavenly Khan.

With such a status, Bai Fang once clenched the lance in his hand, wanting to compete with this Western merchant.

Pei Xingjian noticed Bai Fang's expression and whispered, "What? You still want to fight him?"

Bai Fang's grip on the lance loosened slightly.

"He is a businessman. No matter what, he has not made military achievements like you. You beheaded more than 30 people in the battle of Suiye City. If you kill more, you may become a general in Chang'an City."

"I want to kill more enemies for the Khan."

On the fifth day after the snowstorm, the army finally received a military report. The messenger read out the military order loudly, saying, "Order the vanguard Xue Rengui and Pei Duhu to join forces and attack the city of Ashibulai!"

Xue Rengui said loudly: "Yes!"

The Tang army was finally about to set out again. Li Shen, Murong Shun, and Li Jingheng stayed behind to guard Suiye City, while the rest of the army set out to attack Ashibulai City.

The army was gathering in front of Suiye City. Li Zhi got on his horse and said to Di Renjie, "Do you think this city of Ashibulai was named so in order to guard against the Khan of the Turks?"

"That's because a man named A Shi Bu Lai gave the city this name." Di Renjie replied casually.

Li Zhi was still puzzled and asked: "Really?"

Bai Fang smiled brightly and followed the team with the Western monks.

The Tang army marched through the snow with high spirits. Wearing cotton clothes, they were well-equipped to keep warm, so they were not afraid of the cold wind.

Leaving Suiye City, there is a desolate wilderness in the distance with no people. Under the gray sky, even the scenery in the distance is gray. Only the snow-capped mountains in the distance can still see the snow that never melts all year round.

Led by several herdsmen, the Tang army got closer and closer to the city of Ashibulai, and finally saw people and herds of sheep.

This team of 6,000 Tang soldiers marched very quietly. No one spoke a word and they marched silently.

Originally, there should have been more than 10,000 soldiers, but another 3,000 were left in Suiye City. When Liang Jianfang's army arrived, the Tang army would have enough people.

Under the gray sky and the vast and desolate plain, everyone saw a temple. The temple was on the hillside of the snow-capped mountain. Pei Xingjian sent people to inquire and learned that Xuanzang had also been here in the past.

Xue Rengui asked, "Xuanzang has been away from home for so many years, is it true that he has no women?"

Di Renjie replied: "Who knows? If it were someone else, they would have settled down in a wealthy place long ago. Why would they travel all the way to India? Is it true that people travel such a long distance?"

Li Zhi and Bai Fang also shared the same feeling. Just walking from the Tianshan Mountains to the Pamir Mountains, a distance of thousands of miles, was enough torturous, not to mention walking all the way to India.

Li Zhi said: "If the territory that Xuanzang traveled through was included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, how big it would be."

Pei Xingjian rode his horse in front, listening to the words behind him, and said, "Xuanzang is just one person, but it is not so easy for a large army to march."

Di Renjie had a feeling that this time they might have to stop at Talas City at best. The Tang Dynasty still needed construction, and under the system in the court, it was unlikely to control so far.

In order to maintain the tranquility of the Ili River, it would be enough to attack the city of Talas and then retreat to the city of Suiye, so that there would be no more enemies west of the Ili River.

The scouts in front came riding to report, "General Xue, Pei Duhufu, we found several small towns ahead, and there are Sogdians living there." Bai Fang raised the horse spear in his hand and shouted, "I will clear the way for you and wipe them out!"

After saying this, before Xue Rengui could say anything, Bai Fang and his Western Region monks had already ridden their horses and left the team.

Xue Rengui ordered the troops in the rear to catch up, and the Tang army dispersed on the plain.

Di Renjie, Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui each led a team and attacked towards the west.

The Tang army, which had been marching in an orderly manner, now dispersed and several groups of troops were galloping across the plains, heading towards the small town in the distance.

Xue Rengui held a longbow and aimed at a Sogdian who had just mounted his horse.

The panicked Sogdians shouted loudly, and for a moment the neighing and roaring of war horses were heard everywhere.

The arrow left the bowstring with a whistling sound and shot the Sogdian man who had just mounted his horse off his horse. The Tang army behind him was whistling towards them.

Pei Xingjian led 600 men to chase a group of fleeing Sogdians for dozens of miles, beheading more than a thousand people along the way.

Xue Rengui encountered an ambush by the Sogdians in a valley. His warhorse knocked away the shield-holding Sai people, and with his halberd in his hand, he fought his way out of the ambush circle. With one thousand men against three thousand enemies, he beheaded more than two thousand people.

Di Renjie led a thousand men to surround an earthen city. He calmly set fire to the city, and the entire city was engulfed by fire. All the Sogdians who escaped were killed. More than a thousand people were captured, and more than five thousand enemies were killed.

The young Tang general captured cities along the way, killing the Sogdians so terrified that they fled.

Bai Fang learned about the situation of the troops from various routes, and seeing that the monks he led had only beheaded a few hundred people, he became anxious and headed straight for Ashibulai City. If he didn't go there soon, all his men would be killed by the Tang army, and he wouldn't even be able to get any military merit.

"Report!" A rider on a fast horse came to the front of Xue Rengui's army and announced loudly: "General Bai Fang has led 3,000 monks to the city of Ashibulai and said he would take the city by himself."

Xue Rengui adjusted his armor, kicked away the corpse at his feet, and said with a smile: "Just him?"

"General Bai Fang said he would fight his way through the Pamir Mountains for the Heavenly Khan."

The soldiers around also laughed.

Another messenger came from the rear, dismounted and reported: "General Xue, General Liang Jianfang has led 30,000 troops and 2,000 Tibetan soldiers to Suiye City."

Xue Rengui put away his longbow and said, "Okay! Tell the general that we have reached Ashibulai City. It is enough for him to guard the city from behind."

"Here!"

Xue Rengui rested for half a day, then got on his horse again and said with a smile, "Di Renjie's army still has 500 Uighur cavalrymen. It's such a waste to let them besiege the city. Does this guy know how to fight?"

Li Zhi and Di Renjie were also rushing towards Ashibulai City with their troops. The four Tang troops plowed all the villages and cities along the way between Suiye City and Ashibulai City.

Just as the army was on its way, a soldier from the rear reported: "King Jin! There are soldiers chasing us from behind."

Li Zhi cursed inwardly, "Where are these troops?"

"It seems to be the Serb cavalry."

Di Renjie immediately pulled the reins and turned around to see that there was indeed a troop of soldiers chasing them. He cursed, "Damn it! We didn't kill them all. Set up the battle formation! Fight the enemy!"

What about Sai people, Sogdians, Arabs... Everyone has had enough of them, so just kill them.

Just when everyone was ready to deal with this encounter, they saw that the Sai cavalry that were rushing towards here suddenly became chaotic.

I saw a group of soldiers wearing red cloaks rushing out from the Sai cavalry.

Seeing a team of female guards, Li Zhi said happily, "Cousin!"

Along with Princess Wencheng came the Flying Tigers led by Cheng Chumo and Li Jingheng.

Di Renjie rode his horse and shouted, "Surround them!"

"Here!"

The army turned around and charged towards the Sai people.

The battle in the Pamir Mountains was very complicated. The Sogdians hired the Sai people to fight, and there were also Tocharians among the Sai people. The Tang army encountered various enemies.

As long as he is an enemy, no matter whether he is a Sai, a Sogdian, or a Arab, just kill him.

Being attacked from both sides, this group of Sai cavalry was wiped out in less than half an hour.

The Princess of Wencheng came forward with a group of female guards, with blood on her face. She said in a deep voice, "We knew you didn't clean up the mess. We have been following you."

Li Zhi clasped his fists and said, "Thank you for your concern, sister."

Cheng Chumo rode forward and said, "Let's go. Ashibulai City will probably be captured by those monks from the Western Regions. Pei Yan and Lou Shide are right behind with two thousand soldiers."

"Here!"

The Tang army's attack was divided into several routes. When the front army captured a city, the reinforcements in the rear would immediately come to defend it and replenish baggage and weapons in time.

At this moment, A Shibulai came to the city, and more than half of the monks led by Bai Fang were killed, and they still failed to take the city.

By the time Pei Xingjian arrived with the Tang army and the Uighur cavalry, only one thousand of the Bai army's three thousand monks were left.

"Is this city so difficult to capture?"

Bai Fang sat on the ground tiredly and explained, "General Bohuan has come to help us."

Pei Xingjian didn't care who came, he would just kill them.

Just when Bai Fang was about to breathe a sigh of relief, more monk soldiers came in a panic, pointing to the north, making gestures, and speaking in the Western language.

Hearing this, Bai Fang's expression froze, and he said slowly, "There are Arabs!"

Pei Xingjian pulled up the horse's reins and said, "My good friend, you take a good rest here. I will go meet the Arabs."

Bai Fang could only nod helplessly. He really didn't have the strength to continue riding, so he rested in this valley.

"Gee!" Pei Xingjian spurred his horse and headed towards the north of Ashibulai City. After running for three miles, he saw a group of cavalrymen in black. It was not a large army, with roughly a hundred people.

Murong Shun said that the Arabs had crossed the Amu Darya River, but I didn't expect that they had already sent troops here.

This caused Pei Xingjian to face a sharp increase in pressure.

The troops of both sides confronted each other a mile apart. The Arabs in black did not get closer, but just looked at each other.

A brown-skinned man with a bare head and gold ornaments on his body walked out from the other side's crowd. He looked like a person of very high status.

The sound of war horse hooves came from behind, and another Tang army arrived here. Di Renjie came to Pei Xingjian's side with a longbow in hand, and faced the Arabs together.

(End of this chapter)