There were countless camels sprawled across the vast wilderness, occupying an enormous expanse of land. It was Tian Yuanyi’s first time discovering that camels could eat so much. The stored fodder could barely last two months, and finding food for these camels had consumed all his efforts during this period.
Every evening when he returned to his quarters, he could hear his own bones crying out in protest. His servants had witnessed their master falling asleep in his chair while eating dinner more than once, his face turned toward the ceiling, sleeping soundly. They repeatedly urged him to take better care of his health and not overwork himself like this.
Tian Yuanyi always cheerfully dismissed his old servant. Whether it was bitter or exhausting, he knew clearly. Only by working himself to the bone now and quickly mastering the logistics supply of the camel city would he rightfully become the camel city’s specialized Logistics Military Administrator in the future.
No one understood better than him what position the Military Administrator of the Great Tang’s most formidable military city represented. This was a new type of military unit. If the camel city proved its effectiveness, the empire would certainly not stop at just this one in the future. The Western Regions were too vast. According to the General’s plan, this great sea of sand would need at least four camel cities for adequate defense. And didn’t the grasslands of Guannei Circuit also need such a stable military city as a strategic stronghold? As the only official familiar with camel city logistics supply, his future prospects would surely be limitless.
Power and authority were a joke to the General. He had already reached the pinnacle of power. At this time, following a General without great ambitions was definitely better than following one full of wild ambition. Hou Junjie had been his previous master, and Tian Yuanyi knew very well what fate had befallen him.
“My dark past should be pretty much whitewashed by the General by now, shouldn’t it?” Tian Yuanyi muttered to himself, savoring a cup of strong liquor. His eyes and nose scrunched together, and only after a long while did he exhale the alcoholic fumes. Kicking off his shoes, he burrowed into his bedding. Better sleep early—the General would be beating the drum and holding court tomorrow to arrange military affairs.
Having drunk half the night away with Cheng Chumo the previous evening, Yun Ye still managed to crawl out of bed at dawn. Cheng Chumo was already outside practicing his sword technique, continuing his sixty-nine forms. While Guanzhong should already be enjoying the beautiful season of swaying willows, the foot of the Tian Shan mountains remained frozen in ice and snow. However, the breath of spring was approaching—the spring waters in the river had begun to rise, with large chunks of floating ice occasionally drifting down from upstream.
All things were beginning to revive, and human hearts should revive as well. Hearts that had been frozen for five months must be getting restless now, right?
There was no point in criticizing Su Dingfang. A man who commanded a great army stationed in a prosperous place like Hexi yet allowed his troops to live like beggars—Yun Ye truly had nothing to say. And this fellow still had the nerve to ask Yun Ye for fire oil, planning to bring some back along the way to improve his army’s impoverished situation.
This was the difficulty of having no foundation. As long as Yun Ye wasn’t involved in rebellion, he could do whatever he wanted in the Western Regions. Su Dingfang couldn’t—stationed in Hexi, all his military supplies came from allocations by the Ministry of War. If he dared to plunder, countless impeachment memorials would immediately target him.
Of course, there were even more impeachments against Yun Ye. Under normal circumstances, the Secretariat would simply toss any memorial they found that wasn’t impeaching Yun Ye for rebellion into a small cart, which a clerk would then push to dump these memorials into the furnace.
Knowing it would have no effect, why bother impeaching? The great lords of the Six Ministries knew the Emperor could learn of Yun Ye’s every move through other channels, so they didn’t waste their effort.
“Brother Yun, you don’t know how hard my life is. We’re both in the Western Regions—the frontier troops can make money, but not Old Su here. If I make the slightest move, the Five Li Military Administrator runs over asking why I’m dispatching a small military unit, what the purpose is, what the regulations are. Tell me, in such an environment, what can I do?”
“We brothers stir ladles in the same pot—there’s no need to distinguish between close and distant relationships. This time you must help your brother out. Compared to you, my great army has become a bunch of beggars.”
Yun Ye was about to beat the drum and hold court, but Su Dingfang still wouldn’t leave. It seemed he had made up his mind to persist.
“Fine, I can leave the fire oil matter to you. After all, I can’t approach within five hundred li of Yumen Pass. If you can station the most formidable force at Yumen Pass to help me when I’m in difficulty, I’ll leave the entire fire oil matter to you. I keep feeling something isn’t right in the Western Regions, but I haven’t obtained solid evidence yet. This has forced my army to just wander aimlessly around Beiting and Anxi, not daring to go to Suiye City. I’ve only completed half the task His Majesty assigned me—forcing the barbarians to move westward hasn’t shown even a glimmer of progress.”
“That’s simple. Yumen Pass is already my defense zone. How I deploy troops is the authority of me as commander—the Five Li Military Administrator has no right to question it. It’s settled then. Leave the fire oil matter to me, and I’ll dispatch my deputy general to garrison Yumen Pass, watching your movements at all times. Unless I’m certain you’re under attack, I won’t move. Otherwise I won’t budge—those are the rules, as you know.”
Su Dingfang left in high spirits. Fan Hongyi approached from behind and asked Yun Ye quietly, “General, do you really believe those Western Region people are plotting something sinister? They’ve already left—could they possibly return?”
Yun Ye nodded. “Trading land for time, trading land for space—this isn’t unusual in military strategy. The Beiting and Anxi we’re garrisoning are already very far from the Great Tang. Sending supplies even once is extremely difficult. Moreover, they’ve gone to even more distant places like Talas and Almaty, taking their tribes with them precisely because they don’t want us to obtain supplies. As for letting troops plunder freely, this is almost like implementing a scorched earth policy. If we go to Talas, they’ll be waiting at ease for our exhausted troops. With one side waning and the other waxing, victory would be very difficult for us. Moreover, we’re the side with fewer people. Going there would be a disaster for us.”
Fan Hongyi thought for a moment, then asked Yun Ye again, “General, is your objective simply to defend the line from Luanshi City to Gaochang?”
“Exactly! Trading land for time—Old Fan, do you think we’re the only ones suffering right now? We’re suffering, but the Turks are suffering just the same. The Western Region lands are barren. Talas and Almaty aren’t fertile territories. Now three to five million people are crowded into that small area, plus tens of millions of cattle and sheep. Food alone will give them headaches. Have you ever heard of nomads who don’t rotate their pastures?”
Fan Hongyi began to smile. “General, they’re contracting and we’re contracting too—let’s see who can outlast whom. Once they can’t endure anymore, they must make a decision—whether to go west or east. At that time there will have to be a resolution.”
“Unfortunately, I focused all my attention on the South Seas for the past few years and am very unfamiliar with the Western Regions. If I could have secretly cultivated a force among them a few years earlier, when they’re about to make their decision, that force could launch a western expedition first. Then they’d have no choice but to go west. At that time, they’d head west and we’d follow behind picking up the benefits. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
Yun Ye regretfully tapped the table, somewhat angry with the Water监. That fool Li Dayin—didn’t he foresee the current situation and make some arrangements earlier?
The command drum sounded. After all his subordinate officers had assembled, Fan Hongyi began deploying according to the strategy already formulated. This year’s work would still be defense and contraction. After explaining the reasoning clearly, everyone agreed that defense and contraction were good methods. If they wanted to launch an offensive, that should be after the camel city was established.
Guo Xiaoke also had to retreat. When there was no command relationship before, he could act on his own initiative. Now that Yun Ye had become the Tian Shan Circuit Campaign Commander-in-Chief, naturally he wouldn’t tolerate Guo Xiaoke playing his own little games anymore.
Guo Xiaoke’s deputy general’s face was full of grief and indignation. In his view, having his main force retreat to Kucha meant all last year’s efforts would go to waste. This was clearly Yun Ye punishing Guo Xiaoke for last year’s decision to ignore advice. But with military orders issued, he had no opportunity to object. The Great Tang army was invincible under heaven and should advance bravely—how could they retract their heads into a shell like turtles? This was an enormous humiliation for soldiers, especially since the camel city looked even more like a turtle.
Yun Ye couldn’t get angry at his own people. Even though this deputy general’s words were enough to warrant a flogging, Yun Ye still didn’t lose his temper. Such a foolish fellow wasn’t worth his great anger. He didn’t even need to think with his pig brain—what use was occupying some empty cities? Tian Yuanyi was already complaining that Guo Xiaoke’s forces had run too far, making it impossible for provisions to keep up in timely fashion, causing the Anxi Army soldiers to often go hungry one meal and full the next. Unable even to solve the eating problems of his subordinates, what business did he have talking about advancing westward?
“Since the military strategy has been promulgated, it must be implemented. Zhang Tingyue, you tell Guo Xiaoke that if we take off our war robes and have a brawl, that’s fine. But at this time, if he dares violate military orders, I won’t be lenient.”
“Your supplies have already become problematic. Go to the Military Administrator and take a look. This time requisition more equipment and provisions, just firmly hold Kucha, rest and recuperate, and await the great changes ahead. There will be plenty of opportunities for merit. We don’t want cities—what we want is for the Turks to move westward. Even if there are reversals, we must make the Turks go west. This way the empire’s western frontier will have a hundred years without war. Such great merit is enough for all of us to share.”
“This is the last time I’ll explain military strategy to you. Next time, it will be the Five Li Military Administrator coming to find you.”
After Yun Ye finished speaking, he ended the meeting. The camel city still needed his personal supervision—there absolutely couldn’t be any mistakes.
Academy students were leading craftsmen in manufacturing and installing various mechanisms according to the blueprints. Gongshu Jia was no stranger to this type of large-scale construction, and progress was rapid. Now an enormous frame had appeared before Yun Ye.
“General, look—this is the general appearance of the camel city. Each frame will have five hundred camels. Through the saddle apparatus, the weight carried by this frame will be evenly distributed across each camel. Lady Hypatia has made some modifications to the camel city design—specifically, the frame carried by these five hundred camels is actually an independent combat fortress. Each fortress is identical. When marching they spread out, and when fighting, one hundred such frames can be assembled into various formations according to the General’s will and the terrain.”
“The Academy has invited veteran generals from the court to demonstrate the specific battle tactics for various formations. I believe detailed records will soon be delivered to the General. We also want to see what kind of power such a city possesses.”