Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 99: The Tang Dynasty in the Eyes of Small Countries

Loess, scorching sun, and windy sand.

In the midst of the yellow sand, one can faintly see a camel caravan heading east.

Despite the difficult journey and harsh environment, the camel caravan moved at an extremely fast speed.

After passing Suiye City, this is the last difficult part of the journey. As long as you cross Yingsuo River, you will be not far from the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Everyone in the camel caravan knew that as long as they reached the Tang Dynasty, they would be safe.

However, this final leg of the journey is also the most dangerous.

This is still the territory of the Turks. For a caravan like theirs loaded with goods, if they encounter Turkish cavalry, it means the end of their lives.

There are hundreds of people in this camel caravan, and there are more than a hundred guards. Some of them are the private soldiers of the camel caravan leader An Lie, and the other part are paid mercenaries.

Shi Sanlang was the only Tang person in the camel caravan.

He raised his head slightly from behind the hump and looked at the vast wilderness ahead.

At this moment, his sight seemed to pass through the endless yellow sand and the mountains and rivers, and he saw the great city that he had been dreaming about in the depths of his memory.

Changan.

Shi Sanlang was born in Chang'an. His grandfather was a Tang person of Sogdian descent who worked as an interpreter in the Secretariat. His family was originally very wealthy, and their mansion was the best in Pingkangfang.

However, Prime Minister Chu Suiliang took a fancy to his house and forced him to buy it at a low price.

His grandfather didn't dare to say anything, but he was so angry that he found a censor and reported the matter to heaven.

When the sage learned about this, he exiled Chu Suiliang.

However, he was unable to get the house back, and because he had offended the Chu family, he was forced to leave Chang'an and flee to the Western Regions with a caravan.

After arriving in Kangguo in the Western Regions, he was treated with courtesy by the local people because of his Tang citizenship.

Shi Sanlang could speak both Sogdian and Tang languages, and many powerful people in Kangguo invited him into their homes and treated him as a guest of honor. Many noble women also invited him to teach them Tang language.

Shi Sanlang claimed to be a descendant of a declining noble family in the Tang Dynasty. He successfully infiltrated the upper class of Kangguo and was sought after by many noble ladies.

Shi Sanlang was in Kangguo but his heart was in Tang. After staying in Kangguo for four years, he heard from merchants from Chang'an that Chu Suiliang had offended the queen and was demoted, so he prepared to return to Tang.

Before leaving, he tricked the daughter of a minister of Kang State into elopement with him.

Seeing that he was about to return to the Tang Dynasty, Shi Sanlang couldn't help but burst into tears, and cried out in his heart: "Tang Dynasty, Chang'an, I, Shi Sanlang, am back again!"

From somewhere in the dark, the sound of horse hooves responded to his cry.

A wolf-like howl sounded in the distance, and a group of riders on horseback, swinging scimitars, were running towards this side.

"It's the Turks, prepare to fight!"

The caravan leader An Lie was experienced. He saw that there were not many Turks coming, just a small group of cavalry, less than a hundred people, and they could still be fought.

There was no unnecessary communication between the two sides, and they started fighting directly. The sound of scimitars clashing and people roaring were intertwined.

The air was soon filled with the smell of blood.

"My dear, what should we do?" Sha Ji, the wife deceived by Shi Sanlang, asked in horror.

Shi Sanlang drew his scimitar, pulled his wife to hide under a camel, and when he saw a Turkic man's leg approaching, he chopped it with his knife.

Half an hour later, the battle was over.

There were only more than thirty Turkic cavalrymen in total, and except for a few who escaped, all of them were killed by the caravan.

The caravan suffered even greater casualties. Of the more than 300 people, only less than half were left, and some of the survivors were injured.

There is no way around it, the gap in strength between the caravan's private soldiers and the Turkic cavalry is too great.

If there were a dozen more Turkic cavalrymen, everyone would be dead.

An Lie shouted, "Leave here quickly! The Turkic cavalry will be here soon."

So the camel caravan left quickly without any rest.

The lightly injured were taken with them, while the seriously injured were left where they were, with food left for them, and the rest were left to fend for themselves.

Shi Sanlang was already accustomed to this kind of scene, so without much emotion, he followed the team away from the original place.

The camel caravan hurried eastward. Two hours later, everyone stopped running, and their faces looked despair.

Yellow sand was rising into the sky from the direction they were coming from. It was obvious at a glance that a large group of Turkic cavalry was rushing towards them.

Some women chose to commit suicide for fear of being humiliated by the Turks, while others were killed by their own men.

The Turks had hunting dogs, and it was impossible to escape alive from such an endless plain.

There is no way out.

Shaji held an exquisite scimitar in her hand, drew the sword from its sheath, pointed the blade at her neck, and had a sad look on her face.

"My dear, I'm leaving first. It's a pity that I won't be able to see the Chang'an City you've mentioned to me countless times before I die."

Shi Sanlang was heartbroken and roared to the sky.

At this moment, someone exclaimed: "Look to the east!"

Everyone looked towards the east and saw another thick cloud of dust rising into the sky like a storm.

"Are they also Turks?" someone asked.

"No, it's the Tang people, the Tang army is coming!" Shi Sanlang shouted loudly. He was not sure, but full of hope.

Everyone showed a look of surprise. Some shouted to the sky, some beat their chests, and some cried while hugging the woman's body.

An Lie shouted, "Don't be too happy too soon. This is a war between the Tang people and the Turks. If we stand here, we will definitely be killed. Hide quickly!"

As if waking from a dream, everyone hurriedly pulled their camels towards a hill to the north. Before they reached the hill, the figures of Turkic cavalry appeared on the western horizon. Looking around, they looked like a black torrent, sweeping towards them.

A moment later, the Tang army finally appeared on the eastern horizon.

The Tang army, dressed in red and black armor, looked like a red stream from afar, slowly wriggling, but their speed was far less swift than that of the Turks.

When the Tang army approached, everyone finally saw clearly that the Tang army had formed an array, all of which were infantry, arranged in four arrays on the left, right, front and back.

Within each formation, there are several camps, stacked up in layers and arranged in an orderly manner. The front camp holds spears, the back camp wears bows, and the left and right camps hold lances. They are wearing bright armor and look very sharp.

Among all the countries in the Western Regions, the Tang army was an invincible army. Seeing the mighty Tang army, everyone's heart was filled with admiration.

Many people even knelt down and bowed down to the Tang army.

The two armies gradually approached each other, the Turks shouted "ho ho ho" loudly, while the Tang army formation was silent.

When the battle came into direct contact, the Tang army shouted in unison: "Kill!"

……

Shuanghe, the Turkic royal tent.

A snow-white wolf skin covered the felt bed inside the tent.

Under the wolf skin, two human outlines can be vaguely seen, entangled together.

One of them was the Turkic Khan Helu.

He held a soft and delicate body tightly in his arms. This was the princess of the Stone Kingdom whom he had just snatched from the Stone Kingdom.

Helu only loves women he has robbed throughout his life. He enjoys the process of taming these women, and once they surrender, Helu will lose interest in them.

Although he is old, he is still strong and brave, whether in bed or on the battlefield!
Just then, a young man lifted the curtain and ran into the tent.

The cold wind, wrapped in yellow sand, blew in, making Helu very angry. He cursed, "Asshole, didn't I give the order not to let anyone in?"

"Father, it's me!"

Helu stuck his head out from under the wolfskin and looked up. The person coming was his son Diyun.

"What happened? Why are you so flustered?"

Di Yun said, "Father, the Geluo and Chuyue tribes were attacked by the main force of the Tang army in the Yingsuo River area. Both tribes were completely destroyed, and the supporting Shunishi tribe was also defeated."

Helu lifted the wolfskin and glared, "How is this possible? Aren't the Tang troops still in Liang Province? Why are they here so quickly?"

Di Yun said, "The Tang people are cunning. They pretend to march slowly just to confuse us. When we slack off, they will deliver a fatal blow!"

Helu peeled off the wolf skin, grabbed the naked Princess of the Stone Kingdom, and said coldly, "This woman is unlucky. Drag her away and burn her to death as a sacrifice to the God of the Grassland!"

Two guards rushed in and dragged the woman away.

Di Yun said: "Father, we need to make a decision immediately!"

As Helu put on his clothes, he scolded, "What are you still deciding? Send out orders immediately to gather all the warriors from all tribes. This Khan will fight the Tang people to the death!"

Di Yun said anxiously: "The Tang people are too powerful to be defeated!"

Helu said sternly, "You are useless! How do you know you can't win before you even start fighting? Are you thinking of asking the Tibetans for help?"

Di Yun said: "The Tibetans also hate the Tang people. Why not join forces with them?"

Helu said coldly: "The Turks are the eagles of the grasslands. They will never ask anyone for help. I still have hundreds of thousands of cavalry under my command. The Tang army only has tens of thousands. It may not be impossible to defeat them!"

At this moment, another guard rushed in and said anxiously, "Great Khan, bad news! The Tuqishi and Chumukun tribes were attacked by the main force of the Tang army in Yumu Valley. After initial setbacks, they have retreated to Yancheng and are requesting help from the Khan."

Helu was shocked and angry, "You idiot! We encountered the main force of the Tang army in Yingsuochuan and Yumu Valley. The Tang army only had tens of thousands of soldiers. Where did all those main forces come from?"

Di Yun said, "Father, the Tang army is divided into two groups. The Tang army in Yingsuochuan is led by Su Dingfang, and the Tang army in Yumu Valley is led by Xue Rengui."

Helu snorted coldly, "Xue Rengui? Is that the guy the Tibetans mentioned?"

Diyun said: "Yes."

Helu was silent for a while, then said, "Call the Tibetan envoys over."

Di Yun was overjoyed and said, "I'll go right away."

Not long after, Dubu followed Diyun into the king's tent.

Helu had already put on his clothes and was sitting on a large wolfskin chair eating.

While gnawing on raw mutton, he said to Dubu, "Tubo envoys, are you really willing to help us fight the Tang army?"

Dubu said slowly, "I have been waiting for you in the tent for half a month. If you were not sincere, I would have left long ago."

Helu grinned and said, "Well, send your troops over. This Khan is willing to form an alliance with you."

Du Bu said sternly, "Our army will help your army, but there is one condition."

Helu's eyelids twitched, and he snorted coldly: "Speak."

Du Bu did not speak, but looked around.

Helu waved his hand and asked everyone to leave, leaving only him and Diyun in the tent.

"Now you can speak."

Du Bu said in a deep voice, "We have only one request. Do not tell anyone except you two that we are here to assist you."

Helu was stunned and asked, "Why is that?"

Du Bu said coldly: "This is a trick we learned from the Tang people. As long as they don't know our army exists, we can catch them off guard!"

Helu laughed and said, "Okay, I promise you." He stretched out a fist.

Du Bu also stretched out a fist, and the two fists collided three times, and the alliance was reached!
(End of this chapter)