Tingzhou, also known as Beshbalik, Beshipba, or Yilibali, was an ancient city in Central Asia. Originally the location of the Rear Court of the Cheshi Kingdom, it was called Beshbalik because the royal court consisted of five cities, meaning “Land of Five Cities.”

After Hou Junji pacified and destroyed Gaochang and drove away the Western Turks, he established Tingzhou here. The snowmelt from the Tianshan Mountains irrigated this land, and the earth was crisscrossed with paths and roads, making it one of the rare lands of fish and rice.

What should have been a gentle and pleasant land was engulfed in slaughter when Yun Ye arrived. Black smoke rose from the walls of Juliu Garrison City, battle cries shook the heavens, the Tang forces atop the walls were desperately defending, and the Turkic forces below were attacking frantically.

When Yun Ye, who had been traveling with banners furled and drums silenced, arrived beneath Juliu City, the battlefield finally fell quiet.

It was impossible to see clearly what kind of wild joy the Tang soldiers on the walls must be experiencing. The Turkic forces below seemed to lose all their strength in an instant. The city they had been attacking for three days, just when it was about to fall, just when the Turkic forces thought victory was certain, they discovered that behind them countless Tang cavalry were pressing forward like an overwhelming tide.

The Turkic forces froze for an instant, then scattered in all directions, carried by their warhorses fleeing left and right. Ten thousand cavalrymen with nearly thirty thousand warhorses had long since surrounded Juliu Garrison City completely and tightly. Escaping from under the noses of these Tang soldiers who were eager for merit was truly an extremely difficult matter.

Yun Ye dismounted and stood on a hillock overlooking the battlefield. He watched as the city gates opened wide and the mere hundred or so remaining horses inside the city charged out. Except for one warhorse that galloped toward the direction of Yun Ye’s command banner, the rest all pursued the Turkic forces.

Tian Yuanyi once again requested orders from Yun Ye, preparing to personally handle the Turkic prisoners. In fact, Yun Ye didn’t need to say anything more, nor did Tian Yuanyi need to request any orders. When the Tang army saw the row of Tang people tied to wooden poles beneath the city walls, their intestines spilled and bellies torn open, their hearts nowhere to be found, the army would naturally take the action they deemed most appropriate.

However, Yun Ye still saw living Turkic people—three of them, captured by the garrison inside the city. They seemed more rational than the Tang forces who arrived later.

Meeting an old friend on the vast sea, this should have been a joy that brought tears to one’s clothing. The colonel’s armor was tattered, covered in wounds everywhere, one arm already missing. There were no tears on his face, only the joy of victory: “Sir has come from Chang’an and naturally knows the affairs of home. Is my father’s health still sound?”

“The old man lost his title, but his heart is broad. He still eats ten catties of meat and consumes a full measure of rice. He just goes to Yanlai Tower less frequently. I heard he wants to leave more of an inheritance for his descendants. When I came to the Western Regions, the old man came to see me off. He didn’t mention you, but after the old man left, I discovered that a purple-gold pixiu that had been placed on the desk was gone.”

After hearing Yun Ye’s account, Liu Xinwu laughed heartily, tears streaming down his face. He faced toward Chang’an and performed three full bows before rising and cupping his hands: “Reporting to the Great General, Colonel Liu Xinwu requests to fight!”

“Granted! The battlefield leaves no prisoners. Find the source and eliminate it!” With Yun Ye’s order, the command to leave no survivors immediately spread across the wilderness. The Turkic people who had already been bound up were once again beheaded by the soldiers’ swords.

Fighting against the Turkic forces was very familiar to the Tang army. Heavy armored cavalry had incomparable power on such battlefields. The Turkic people’s knives could only leave a mark on the Tang soldiers’ armor, while the Tang army’s hundred-times-forged horizontal swords, driven by the speed of the horses, needed only to be held in front to easily slice through the leather-armored Turkic warriors, cutting them in two.

Liu Xinwu, missing one arm, was still fierce as a lion. After all, he was Liu Hongji’s son, and the brave blood of his father’s generation still flowed in his veins. Controlling his horse with both legs, wielding a horizontal sword with his remaining right hand, he seemed intent on pouring out all his fury. Two veteran Xuanjia Army soldiers dispatched by Yun Ye stayed close by his sides, their bearing relaxed.

The battlefield fell quiet once again. Yun Ye was no longer on the hillock; he had entered Juliu Garrison City. This place was only fifty li from Tingzhou City. He heard that Turkic forces were also harassing there, and five thousand troops had already rushed to that location. Fortunately, the officials and their family members here were all well. Only the casualties among the soldiers were concerning. Of the one thousand troops under Liu Xinwu’s command, fewer than three hundred remained, and every one of them was wounded.

“Great General, since the beginning of this year, undercurrents have been stirring in the Western Regions. Those tribes preparing to march westward seem even more frantic. They travel tirelessly across the Gobi, collecting everything they can collect. This subordinate believes their western expedition is imminent. These people are preparing supplies for their western campaign.”

Liu Xinwu was the highest military officer left behind by Su Dingfang. His words perhaps best reflected the mentality of those great Western Region clans. But Yun Ye felt something wasn’t quite right. He always felt that something was going to happen here. His own western advance must be cautious, extremely cautious. Looking at the map on the wall, Yun Ye’s eyes suddenly brightened.

He gestured with his hand at the distance from Beiting to Suiye City, then examined the route map that Qu Zhuo had left for him, and finally calculated the rest periods. Out of nowhere, he asked Liu Xinwu: “From Tingzhou to Talas is a full eighteen hundred li or more, with two salt marshes in between and countless mountain ranges. You tell me—can the grain they plundered in Tingzhou support them for a round trip raid of four thousand li? You tell me which general would send his subordinates two thousand li away to gather provisions?”

“If it were me, I would immediately advance troops into the Bolu Kingdom, or Tokharistan, or even raid the Shache Kingdom—that would be much better than returning to Tingzhou. Moreover, this would also open up a forward path for myself. Ha ha, why would these Turkic people pass up what’s near to seek what’s far?”

Liu Xinwu looked at the map, his brows knitted together. Originally, Yun Ye didn’t need to discuss these matters with Liu Xinwu, but the doubts had been building in his mind until they were about to become a fog. Not just Beiting—even the more distant Loulan had experienced harassment from bandits. This couldn’t help but make Yun Ye wonder what purpose lay behind all this.

Could it be a matter of luck? When Hou Junji guarded the Western Regions, all was peaceful under heaven. When Su Dingfang guarded here, it was also calm and safe. How was it that when it came to him, smoke was rising everywhere? Was his reputation not as effective as his two predecessors’, so that people treated him like a soft persimmon to squeeze? Damn it, Guo Xiaoke’s area was peaceful and trouble-free.

While Yun Ye was extremely troubled, Xiao Miao appeared quite cheerful. Sitting atop the tall camel, she played the xun she had just learned from Hei Feng, making woo-woo-woo sounds. She really liked this instrument made of fired clay. As long as she kept pressing the six holes on it with her fingers, she could produce very pleasant sounds. Right now she could only make woo-woo sounds, but according to Hei Feng, this already made her a rare genius—some people couldn’t make the xun produce any sound even after learning for a year or two.

“Xiao Miao, can you stop? You’ve been playing all along the way, sounding like crying.” Gou Zi really couldn’t take it anymore. Qu Zhuo sat on his camel with a scroll of books, completely deaf to it. Hei Feng swayed his head as if thoroughly appreciating it. Only he alone was being tortured.

A fruit hit him in the face, and Gou Zi immediately shut his mouth. It wasn’t that he couldn’t dodge it, but that he dared not dodge. If he avoided the fruit this time, heaven only knew what else would come flying afterward. He had suffered such losses countless times before. He couldn’t beat her, couldn’t avoid her, so he might as well take the loss early and be done with it.

Seeing Gou Zi suffer, the rest of the Loulan people all laughed. Through this period of interaction, they discovered that aside from the Tang people’s fondness for opening up graves to look inside, they didn’t have too many demands. The grain they grew was still theirs to eat, their children were still their own. What they liked most was that these people could kill all the bandits but never came to plunder themselves.

Attaching themselves to the strong had always been the Loulan people’s way. Since the Tang people were the strongest in this land, following them might be a path to survival. At least from the current perspective, Loulan was perfectly safe.

Qu Zhuo put down the book in his hands and looked at the vast desert before him. Although his entire body was already soaked with sweat, he still wrapped several thick layers of hemp cloth around his head to reduce the skin exposed to the air. This was also one of the key points for surviving in the desert.

The three sparrowhawks were kept in cages placed on his camel’s back. These were treasures that absolutely must not be damaged—they would be relied upon to transmit messages. Qu Zhuo sighed. He had no confidence at all about this mission to go to Talas to gather intelligence.

Those who could know the most core information were undoubtedly the core figures in these Gobi deserts. Having lived in the desert for five years, he had not seen a single foolish king—truly not one. The foolish ones had long since been killed by others, and their kingdoms, their thrones, their women and wealth had long since become someone else’s.

Talas was now undoubtedly a military city. Millions of people crowded into a cramped area—who knew what kind of chaos that must be. The assignment he had received this time was definitely not a good one. Xiao Miao had excellent skills, but her temperament was like a child’s. Gou Zi, though more experienced, had an inherently carefree nature that also didn’t make him the best choice for a spy.

Fortunately, these Loulan people could still be put to use, especially Hei Feng. He was intimately familiar with these people of the Gobi. Along the way, relying on Hei Feng, they had sent away at least three waves of bandits. Even if mountains don’t meet, waters do—these bandits also knew that one day they would need the Loulan people’s help. Moreover, the camel backs were loaded with weapons and leather armor. Though all were used, they were exactly the supplies that Talas City needed most.

Yun Ye had packaged up all the captured Tubo people’s swords, spears, and armor and given them to Hei Feng. All the money from selling them would belong to the Loulan people. His only requirement of them was to protect those three people well. As long as they accomplished this, Yun Ye promised to give twenty Loulan people travel permits, allowing them to enter Guanzhong unobstructed and live the lives they wanted.

Hei Feng believed this matter was worth risking his life for. Having seen enough of the wandering and displacement of the Gobi, he now only wanted to wake up in the morning without having to consider whether bandits would attack today, and without having to think about paying the exorbitant taxes he simply had no ability to meet.