Chapter 123: The Border of Qinghai Lake

Since Tubo is a slave-based military tribal alliance, the military system followed the primitive tribes' system of military forces based on clan groups. The tribe is a tribe of military affairs, administration and production. Whenever they go to war, the entire tribe will participate in the war. While the soldiers are fighting in front, the tribes and their property will not fall too far. Therefore, when the army in front retreats, the "weak baggage supply" is often conquered by the Tang army, which becomes a hindrance pain for the Tubo tribe.

It was not until the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion that Longxi of the Tang Dynasty was empty and was plundered by the Tubo army to become Tubo slaves. The Tubo changed the situation of the entire tribe participating in the war, and Han slaves provided logistics.

During this battle of Hehuang, Tubo was still a tribal movement, but Tubo had plundered many Han slaves. They were called Yong, and they were also incorporated into the logistics this time.

The Tubo people discovered by Nan Jiyun were a small tribe living near Wuhai. They had about 3,000 people, and a thousand men were stationed in Chiling. Women, children and slaves were distributed on the grassland west of Fuqi City. Generally, more than a dozen families with blood relationships lived together. The dozens of tents closest to the Tang army were composed of thirteen Tubo families.

There were more than fifty people in total, including thirty Tubo women and children, and the remaining twenty were Han people who were plundered from Longyou. They were slaves to their thirteen families, most of them were women, and a few elderly people. The male slaves were sent to Dafeichuan to build a city.

It was almost dusk, and more than a dozen ragged Han female slaves by the river were driving the flock back to the circle, while the rest were cooking in the camp to serve the Tubo masters.

These Han women were originally good women from Longyou. Some of them had families and children, while others were still unmarried girls. The city where they lived was destroyed by the Tubo people. Their families were destroyed and their husbands died. Their fate was extremely miserable. They first arrested them as prostitutes, and those who survived were assigned to slaves to Tubo tribes. They had no personal freedom and were oxen and horses for their masters. They were beaten and tortured by the mistress during the day and satisfied the lust of the male masters at night. Their status was even worse than that of the cows and horses. The harsh living environment made them unable to survive for a few years and were quickly tortured to death.

"Today is their big festival, hey! I wonder if we can drink mutton soup tonight?"

"Lu Niang, don't dream, it's good if the barley seed is half full."

At this time, several sheep ran out of the flock, and several female slaves were suddenly panicked and ran to chase them together. If one sheep was missing, they would not be able to survive.

"The lamb is back!"

A young female slave chased after her desperately. Suddenly, a hard stubble from the grassland pierced into her feet, and blood suddenly flowed. She fell heavily to the ground. Several other female slaves hurriedly surrounded her and tore off the cloth strips from their tattered skirts and bandaged her.

"Go and chase the sheep back. If we lose it, we will be in great trouble!" the young female slave shouted anxiously at the Aries in the distance.

Suddenly, her hand froze, and she saw a group of troops appearing in the distance, rushing towards this side.

She suddenly shouted in horror: "Soldiers are coming!"

The female slaves were immediately scared and lost their souls. They knew too well that the consequences of being caught by these tiger and wolf soldiers. They had all experienced it. The pain of life worse than death left them with unforgettable nightmare.

The female slaves didn't care about the flock. They ran around in horror. The injured female slaves were supported by two companions and ran southward, but they could not escape the war horses. For a moment, the sound of thunderous horse hooves rang in their ears, and someone laughed, "It's all Tubo girls, brothers enjoy it!"

"It's a Han person!"

The young female slave suddenly stopped. She suddenly turned around and saw a bearded Tang Jun rushing towards her. She was so excited that she shouted, tears flowing all over her face.

"Save me!"

Li Fei Yuanli, who rushed towards her, was stunned. The Tubo ladies cried and screamed, and could speak Chinese. What's going on?

A soldier saw it first, and he shouted loudly: "General Lifei, she seems to be a Han woman!"

"Han people?"

Li Fei Yuanli suddenly shouted loudly: "Go and ask brothers not to do anything randomly, and ask about the situation first."

He turned over and dismounted, walked to the woman kneeling in front of him, and saw that her foot was pierced by a hardwood, and was covered in blood. He took out a bag of wound medicine from his arms and scattered it on the wound for her.

The female slave knelt on the ground, lowered her head and wiped her tears. Li Fei Yuanli squatted in front of her and looked at her and said, "Tell me! If you are really a Han woman, Lao Li will not hurt you."

"Jun Ye, my family's surname is Zhao, nickname is Lu Niang, I am sixteen years old this year, and I was originally from Fengxiang, Guanzhong."

"Wait! Since you are from Fengxiang, Guanzhong, how could you be here?" Li Fei Yuanli scratched the back of his head and asked in confusion.

"Five years ago, my family went to Songzhou to join my uncle. My father planted a few acres of thin fields there to make a living. Three years ago, the Tubo people captured Songzhou and the whole city was captured. When they walked past a cliff, the Tubo people asked us to bid farewell to their hometown. My father and uncle jumped off the cliff and died in grief. My mother also jumped down with my father. More than 500 young women were sent to the Tubo military camp."

"Stop talking!"

Li Fei Yuanli stood up suddenly, and his anger flashed in his eyes. At this time, more than a dozen other women also slowly gathered over. Li Fei Yuanli waved to them and said, "Don't be afraid, we are Tang Jun, we will protect you and send you back to our hometown."

More than a dozen Han female slaves listened blankly, and suddenly, someone burst into tears, and everyone burst into tears. They cried to tell the Tang army about their tragic fate after being robbed by the Tubo people, how many years of suffering and torture, how many years of missing their relatives, they were desperate, and they were waiting for death in pain, but at this moment, a Tang army and a group of their own suddenly came beside them.

The pain that the female slaves accumulated in their hearts burst out at this moment. They covered their faces and cried so hard that they could not continue. Several women even fainted when they thought of their husbands and children being killed.

Every Tang army's face was filled with tears. They silently looked at the group of sisters enslaved by the Tubo people. Their dresses were torn, their bones were as thin as firewood, their hair was as messy as straw, and their faces were filled with the bitterness of hunger. The Tang army soldiers bit their teeth and their fists were clattering.

"Avenge!" A soldier suddenly yelled.

"Avenge! Revenge!" The roar echoed in the wilderness.

Li Fei Yuanli looked up suddenly and stared at the tent in the distance fiercely. He punched the grass and said word by word: "Kill me and save our sisters. Tubo people, no matter men, women, young and old, will not leave any of them, kill them all!"

More than two hundred Tang soldiers flew onto horses. They pulled out their swords and roared and rushed towards the tent. The fire of hatred was already burning in their chests, and their hatred was only condensed into one word: ‘Kill!’

The thirteen Tubo people who were eating were alarmed by the sound of horse hooves. They ran out of the tents one after another and suddenly found that it was the Tang army coming. They were extremely frightened and turned around to run away. Two Tubo boys were trying to escape on horseback. They were shot through the backs by two flying wolf-toothed arrows and screamed and fell off their horses.

A tribal elder who lived here was furious and drew his sword to fight, but was whistled by a Tang army, his head was chopped away, and thirty Tubo women and children were instantly flooded by the Tang army's iron hooves.

When it was dark, Li Qing'an's brigade slowly arrived by the river, and a blazing bonfire was lit in the middle of the tent. Li Fei Yuanli was leading the Tang army to busy kill lamb and barbecue. More than 20 women were placed in separate tents. Tang army sent them goat milk and roasted meat.

Li Fei Yuanli's anger was still uneasy. He reported to Li Qing'an hatefully: "Qilang, I, Lao Li, are indignant. I will kill all the Tubo people here. If you violate any military discipline, you should punish me."

"I won't punish you for killing someone, but if one person escapes, I will hit you with a hundred military sticks!"

Li Fei Yuanli was overjoyed and he immediately said, "No, I promise no one escapes, we are surrounded."

At this time, Nan Jiyun brought an old man with a shaved hair and felt and said, "General, this old man is also a Han slave. He knows the situation in Fuqi City."

The old man stepped forward and knelt down, crying and said, "General! I am from Lintao and have been arrested for ten years. If I can go back to my hometown, I will definitely set up a sign of immortality for you and kneel down for you every day."

Li Qing'an felt sad, and quickly helped him up and comforted him: "Old man, we will definitely take you back to your hometown. Can you tell me about the situation in Fuqicheng first?"

The old man sighed and said, "I am a blacksmith in Lintao. I have been fighting iron for thirty years and have a job in my hands, so I was not killed. Two months ago, I was conquered to work in Fuqi City. I only came back with my master three days ago. Fuqi City was full of grain. I counted and there were twenty-four large granaries, which were the main grain warehouse of the Tubo army."

"How many Tubo soldiers are there in garrison?"

"I don't know, there are probably a few thousand people! But I heard from my master that there are not too many troops in Fuqi City. Tubo's heavy troops are concentrated in Qinghai, one south and one north, the Chiling Dafeichuan area in the south, and the Datong Valley in the north, Jun Ye, I don't know that you will actually come to the back."

Li Qing'an's brows frowned. The things he had been worried about might become a reality. That is how he went to Hehuang? There were heavy troops stationed in Qinghai and Hunan, and they could not get around it at all. If they were discovered by the Tubo people, they could only retreat to Dunhuang. Then what's the point of his coming to Hehuang?

He walked slowly with his hands behind his back, thinking about countermeasures, and went from the south to cross Chiling. First of all, he couldn't get through Dafeichuan. He could only walk the north road and go around the Datong Valley north of Qinghai. He carefully studied the map. The Datong Valley was about a hundred miles wide, and the Tubo people could not be prepared everywhere. There must be a gap in the middle. If he finds a way to transfer part of the Datong Mountain troops to the south, there will definitely be a defensive loophole. In this way, they may have a chance.

Thinking of this, Li Qing'an waved and called Nan Jiyun and He Yanming, saying, "We are behind enemy lines, and intelligence is the most important thing. You each lead a small team of people to Fuqi City and Datong Valley to investigate the situation. Remember, no matter what, the Tubo people cannot discover our whereabouts. Even ordinary civilians cannot do it. If they are accidentally discovered, kill all the people nearby, regardless of men, women, young and old, no one is left. Never have the kindness of women, otherwise we will have the worries of life."

"Subordinate to obey the order!"

The two of them bowed with fists and hurried away. Li Qing'an asked Zhao Luniang to bring him and asked in detail about the situation in Jiannan. He suddenly had an idea that the Tubo army gathered in Dafeichuan, and the Jiannan area must be empty. Why not take this opportunity to regain the Jiannan city occupied by Tubo?

After dinner, the Tang army put out the fire and rested. Dozens of posts were distributed to the surrounding area ten miles away. Although Nan Jiyun had visited and there was no people within thirty miles around, Li Qing'an still did not dare to be careless. They joined the middle of hundreds of thousands of Tubo people. Once discovered, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Tang Jun fell asleep quickly, snoring one after another, and Li Qing'an couldn't fall asleep. He took the bow and arrow and paraded around the camp. He passed by several female slave tents, and two sentries guarded near their tents. Seeing Li Qing'an coming, they stood up together.

"Is anyone harassed them?" Li Qingan asked, pointing to the tent.

"Report to the general, no!"

Li Qing'an approached the tent and looked inside through the gap. There was darkness inside. They could be seen vaguely huddled on the thick blanket, all asleep, and their breathing sounds fluctuated evenly.

Li Qingan sighed secretly and said to the two sentries: "Look at them, no one is allowed to go in. If anyone wants to force in, come and inform me immediately."

"Abide by the order!"

Li Qingan left the female slave's tent again and walked to a low hill. He climbed up. Although the hill was not high, he still felt like he was looking into the distance. The night wind was cold and hit his face.

He simply sat down with his knees. In his memory, this was a plateau of three thousand meters above sea level. The sky became particularly clean and bigger, just like the endless sea, like a sky covering everything, so calm, without any wrinkles, all the same dark blue. The stars hanging over his head were like gems adorned on the sky, particularly dazzling. Suddenly, a ray of light moved westward, and a star fell to the west, and soon fell to the sky and disappeared.

This place is so close to space. Li Qingan suddenly remembered a science fiction documentary he had watched in later generations, saying that there are many alien traces of unknown origin by Qinghai Lake, such as the Mystery of the Stone Disc. A strange idea appeared in his mind, would he meet aliens, find him a time tunnel and let him return to 1,300 years later.

Li Qingan shook his head with a wry smile. How could it be? Even if there is really a time tunnel in front of him, does he still have the courage to go back? From the early spring of the fifth year of Tianbao, it was September of the seventh year of Tianbao in a flash. It was almost three years ago. He felt that he had almost integrated into this era. Like everyone, he wanted to climb up, eager to be the governor one day earlier, longing to be named a general, become a prime minister, live in a high-ranking house, have beautiful women like Yang Guifei, have endless wealth, be famous in history, and have the same idea as all the officers of the Tang Dynasty.

So, he desperately made friends with the powerful and nobles, won the favor of Gao Lishi, was attracted by Li Linfu, entered the princeling party, was affirmed by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and took 50,000 taels of gold. So far, everything went smoothly. He had even seen the position of the governor of Anxi, waving to him, and he was a little lost.

Until today, he accidentally saw it with his own eyes and heard the misery of the Han slaves with his own eyes, as if he had a blow to wake him up.

No, he should be different from ordinary Tang people. He has a history of 1,300 years more than them. He knows the tragic cycle of the Han people more clearly and feels more painful than they do.

Li Qingan couldn't help but remember Zhao Luniang's statement, "The Tubo people broke through Songzhou, and everyone in the city was captured. When they walked through a cliff, the Tubo people asked us to bid farewell to our hometown. My father and uncle jumped off the cliff and died in grief. My mother also jumped down with my father. More than 500 young women were sent to the Tubo military camp.

His heart was as violent as a spasm, and scenes of the massacre of the Han people flashed past his eyes. Seven years later, the Anshi Rebellion broke out and Tubo attacked the Tang Dynasty in a large-scale manner. Millions of Han people were captured into Tubo and became slaves and livestock. Their wives and daughters were occupied, their parents were killed, their homes were destroyed, and they were shaved and replaced, and they were forced to forget to speak in their hometowns and be slaves for generations.

In the decades that followed, countless beast-like aliens ravaged and killed the Han people. In the fifteenth year of Tianbao, Li Longji fled westward, and more than 100,000 Hu soldiers rushed into Chang'an. The prosperity of the Tang Dynasty was destroyed by the Hu soldiers' grinning. The Central Plains struggled under the Hu cavalry, and cities were broken, and the city was massacred, men killed, and women died in the wheel camp; the fire in the White Horse Temple, the eastern capital Luoyang struggled in the lust of the Uighurs; in the first year of Guangde, Tubo broke the capital and looted for half a month, sweeping away the wealthy women in Chang'an.

These history have gradually been forgotten by descendants. People in later generations only remember the friendship under the Alliance Monument and the words that praise morality. But today Li Qingan particularly truly experienced the cruelty of history. Isn’t the tragic experience of more than 20 Han female slaves the most authentic portrayal of the relationship between Tang and Tibet?

"There is no longer a person in Longtou, and the Hu cavalry entered Liangzhou City at night. The Han family fought and died everywhere, and they lost all the land in Longxi. They drove the people from the border to go to Huzhong, scattered cattle, sheep, and ate wheat and millet. Last year, China raised its descendants, and now they are wearing felt furs and learning Hu language. Who can better use Li Qingche to collect the Han family in Liangzhou?"

He whispered this famous poem by Zhang Ji. Tonight, he thought too much, and he felt a feeling in his heart that he had never felt before.
Chapter completed!