Watching the scene before him, Yun Ye was reminded of the later era when the Eight Banner cavalry charged the Eight-Nation Alliance—the same men and horses toppling over, the same unyielding determination, the same hunger for victory.

Of course, the result was equally tragic. When corpses covered the empty ground, the Tubo people’s decision was very decisive. Without a second thought, they rushed into the desert. During their retreat, they decisively killed their wounded companions in passing. By the time Yun Ye’s cavalry began their charge, there wasn’t a single living person left on the ground.

Standing at the mountain pass, watching those Tubo people disappear into the desert, then looking back at the corpses on the ground, an extremely unreal feeling filled Yun Ye’s entire body. Victory achieved just like that?

“Commander, the Tubo people left behind two thousand four hundred and fifty-some corpses. A full three thousand escaped. Our eight-ox crossbows didn’t achieve the expected results. These Tubo people retreated too decisively—they didn’t show the slightest intention to continue fighting.”

“How can you give such an unclear count? What does ‘some corpses’ mean? Isn’t there an exact number?” Yun Ye looked furiously at Fan Hongyi before him, his temper surging uncontrollably.

After Fan Hongyi inspected the battlefield, he discovered there really was no way to count accurately. There were many extra arms, legs, internal organs, and heads scattered about. The eight-ox crossbows’ wide shovel-shaped bolts had become the best tools for dismembering bodies.

“Send ten squads—select elite ones—to enter the desert and investigate the Tubo people’s movements. I want to see exactly where they’ll go. Depart in three days!”

Having wrongly scolded Fan Hongyi, Yun Ye didn’t apologize, nor did he need to. The military didn’t have such customs. Even killing the wrong person required no guilt. A commander’s authority must be maintained.

He divided off three thousand cavalry to garrison Dina Mountain pass. Both mountain peaks were covered with eight-ox crossbows. On the high cliff walls, scouts patrolled day and night without rest. Yun Ye had no intention of repeating the Tubo people’s mistake.

The remaining army garrisoned Shanshan City. Yun Ye didn’t plan to pursue the city lord—there was no need. Kill him, and after he left, someone else would emerge to compete for the position of city lord.

“The mutton soup you make isn’t bad, though the desert mutton has a rather heavy gamey smell. Remember to mask it with spices. I never imagined that in just a few years you’d already become a parent. Jian Niang is good too—being able to accompany you through bitter hardship in the desert makes her a fine woman. I’ve changed her background. When you return to Chang’an, no one will say she’s a barbarian woman. Otherwise, your official position won’t be secure. Officials cannot take foreign women as principal wives—this legal principle is enforced very strictly.”

Qu Zhuo sat opposite Yun Ye, listening to him explain these bureaucratic taboos. He had to prick up his ears and listen carefully. Though he’d been an official for many years, he’d never navigated the bureaucracy. Yun Ye wouldn’t allow his own people to be bullied by others.

“If you want to be a local official, go to Yuezhou. Working under Guan Tinglong, you won’t be mistreated. If you want to be a capital official, go to the Ministry of War. Though I no longer govern the Ministry of War, the people I placed there surely won’t be oppressed by others.”

“This is all what you deserve. Three years in Nanzhao, five years in the desert—being promoted three ranks isn’t excessive. The memorial requesting merit for you has already been submitted. Now I need you and Di Renjie to organize the documents you’ve collected together. Keep one copy at the Beiting Protectorate, and you need to bring another copy back to deliver to the Secretariat for archival storage. These things are what we rely on to govern Beiting.”

Yun Ye finished the mutton soup with a furrowed brow, tossed the bowl aside, and continued, “Di Renjie will be returning in autumn. You’ll go back with him then. From the goods left behind by those Tubo people, take three camels for yourself—choose carefully. Rice is expensive in Chang’an and living there isn’t easy. Consider it compensation for your hardship in the desert. When you return to Chang’an, the Ministry of Revenue will also issue your back pay from these years. Though it’s not much, it’s according to the dynasty’s legal code and cannot be declined. Go now—take these three chests and return to Loulan with the supply train.”

Qu Zhuo said nothing, only listened. Seeing that Yun Ye was about to send him away, he quickly said, “My lord, why not let this student help you here? Regarding the Western Regions, there’s no one more familiar than this student. As long as Xiaojie takes Jian Niang and the children when he leaves, that would be fine. This way, this student could serve my lord without any concerns.”

Yun Ye looked at Qu Zhuo with a smile and said, “I heard that before the army entered the city, you bellowed something like ‘Who dares fight me?’ With that physique of yours, you can’t endure the hardship of marching. Still talking about fighting—you were set on seeking death, weren’t you?”

“Who would seek death if they could live? This student simply thought that if we Tang people were to live like dogs, it would be better to die cleanly. So I took up my blade, planning to kill one to break even, kill two to gain one.”

“Please grant this student’s request. This student comes from humble origins. If I want to advance, eating bitterness is my only path. This student plans to endure hardship in Beiting for a few more years, at least earning a hereditary position for my child. That way, even dying would be worthwhile.”

“Since you have this intention, then stay. Serve as an adjutant attached to my headquarters and await orders. As for whether there will be merit to earn later, heaven knows. This time our road ahead is obscured—we cannot see clearly.”

Yun Ye left Qu Zhuo’s home with his hands behind his back. The horizon was turning blue again—this day was about to end.

For the first time, the people of Shanshan City discovered that though the city was full of soldiers, everything was extremely peaceful. No one came to drag women from their homes, nor did anyone come to take away their pitiful bit of grain. Merchants were astonished to discover that these soldiers actually paid money when buying things, all in exquisite Tang copper coins or silver coins.

Those with more flexible minds watched the soldiers wandering about everywhere. Gritting their teeth, they brought out all their hidden goods. The wealthy Tang soldiers’ favorite items were those plates with various styles—whether copper plates or silver plates, they loved them all. Some officers even took out gold and had goldsmiths craft the finest gold vessels for them. Golden sheep with parrot beaks and deer antlers were these people’s favorites, and some unique jewelry also gained Tang people’s affection.

All the merchants who boldly opened their doors made a fortune from this tide of people. Those without the courage to open regretted it, beating their chests and stamping their feet. Some young women, wearing brightly colored clothes, danced for those Tang people in taverns. The rewards they received in one night were quite considerable. The women were just somewhat annoyed—they had successfully aroused the young soldiers’ desires, yet when scolded once by older soldiers, they obediently left. Not being able to earn money from their flesh was their only regret.

The soldiers who had entered the desert to investigate returned. Those Tubo people had turned toward Yuli Kingdom. Were they seeking their own death? Yun Ye felt extremely puzzled—they couldn’t possibly survive a month and a half in the desert with small amounts of water.

“Commander!” One white-bearded old soldier clasped his hands and said, “This subordinate believes they plan to drink horse blood, and might even drink… at the final moment…”

Seeing the old soldier hesitate to continue, Yun Ye smiled and said, “You mean they plan to drink human blood and eat human flesh? This area is completely barren—not a drop of water can be found. Eating raw human flesh would be quite difficult. Besides, if people don’t drink water for a long time, their blood becomes viscous and probably wouldn’t taste good either.”

Hearing Yun Ye’s words, the old soldier couldn’t help but feel somewhat stunned. How did the Commander know this in such detail? Could it be that the Commander had also eaten human flesh? Seeing Yun Ye lick his lips, he couldn’t help but feel greatly alarmed.

The Tubo people had already gone far enough—turning back was no longer possible. The objective had been achieved. Yun Ye ordered the entire army to relocate to Loulan City. There the army needed to receive large numbers of camels. With them, they could move sideways through the Western Regions. Once he returned from Tingzhou, he could lead the army far to Suiye City to oversee the barbarians’ westward advance.

Thinking of his subordinates, then thinking of the Battle of Talas in his memory, Yun Ye was filled with worry. The Tang’s armed forces at that time had already reached the pinnacle that cold weapons could achieve. Compared to his current subordinates, they weren’t inferior—blade-axes, long spears, horizontal blades, crossbow arrows, ballista crossbows, especially the terrifying twelve-load ballista crossbow, absolutely not comparable to the eight-ox crossbows Yun Ye now used. The eight-ox crossbows only won in two advantages: portability and rapid rate of fire.

Speaking of cavalry, Tang cavalry differed somewhat from the previous Northern and Southern Dynasties period. The widespread use of mature stirrups allowed cavalry to develop from the light cavalry of the Qin and Han dynasties to heavy armored cavalry—that is, both men and horses protected with heavy armor, launching impact operations on the battlefield.

Many generals, because their opponents were nomadic light cavalry and their operations were primarily long-distance strikes, preferred light cavalry—for example, Li Jing and Hou Junji were like this. They all liked using their varied tactics to wear down the enemy, finally winning in one battle.

Yun Ye was different. He considered himself no military genius, so with self-preservation as his priority, he greatly advocated the role of heavy cavalry charges in breaking formations. He had gunpowder as such a deadly weapon—fighting positional warfare was most cost-effective. Overwhelming volleys of gunpowder crossbow arrows could not only kill enemies but also destroy their confidence. His battlefield could determine victory or defeat in a short time, so maintaining a powerful heavy cavalry force to break through the enemy’s final defensive line was very necessary.

The Tang had fine horses and inexhaustible steel. Naturally, these two resources should be exploited to the extreme. What supported Yun Ye’s conviction of certain victory at this time were firearms, especially the black powder grenades Qingque had developed. Though somewhat large and not thrown very far, when placed on catapults they could still serve as artillery.

He now finally understood why the Tang army at the Battle of Talas numbered only just over thirty thousand—because that was the limit of Tang logistical supply. With his own thirty-some thousand entering Beiting, the court had to recall Su Dingfang’s twenty-six thousand. An army of sixty thousand would exhaust the Ministry of War to death and they still couldn’t complete the supply.

Looking around in all directions, everywhere were enemies. In his intelligence reports, Qu Zhuo had mentioned more than once the untrustworthiness of Western Region people, the untrustworthiness of Tubo people—untrustworthiness of those westward-advancing tribes filled the entire text.

That was fine. Here, this old master wasn’t a regular army, and regular army wasn’t needed here. This old master would rather be a bandit with slightly better discipline. In any case, there was nothing worth cherishing. Thoroughly smash the Western Regions to pieces—then no one would covet this land anymore.