TUN-HUANG (24 page)

“What are you doing?” The instant that Hsing-te shouted, Wang-li’s body danced up into the air, then fell headlong down to the bottom of the cliff.

Hsing-te was awakened by his own voice. He didn’t know what he had shouted, but he was sure that he had cried out. His pulse was racing and he was perspiring. Just then Hsing-te heard an unusual commotion outside.

He quickly opened the door. Many soldiers were carrying flaming bundles of dried rushes as they ran past the barracks. They were all shouting as if they had gone mad. One group after another passed by.

Hsing-te ran to the unit headquarters. He saw the harelipped commander also shouting in front of it. He couldn’t tell where the men with their flaming bundles had come from, but they arrived in successive waves at the headquarters and dispersed from there.

“What’s going on?” Hsing-te went to ask the commander, who opened his mouth wide and grinned—that mouth was gruesome even under normal circumstances. He replied indistinctly, “We’re going to burn the city … the city”

“Where is Wang-li?” Hsing-te felt strangely anxious as he asked this.

“Our commander has died in battle. That report has just come in. Burn the city. After that everyone can flee.”

The hare-lipped warrior was so agitated that he would not listen to anything Hsing-te said. He waved his arms about excitedly and continued shouting at the soldiers. “Light the fires! Burn the city!”

Hsing-te thought that he might somehow be able to see the battle, so he ascended the ramparts. But he could see nothing from there. The plain, which was about to absorb the setting sun, was still. But when he strained his ears, he could hear sounds resembling war cries somewhere at a great distance. These sounds were distinct from the confusion reigning within the city. When he looked back into the garrison, he saw smoke rising from many spots all over the city.

The fires were probably blazing strongly, but it was hard to tell in the daytime. Minute by minute black smoke began to gather over Sha-chou.

As Hsing-te descended, he felt there was nothing left for him to do in this world. From the moment he had heard of Wang-li’s death, it seemed he had lost the mainstay of his life. If the elderly commander had lived, he would want to live, too, but since he had died, Hsing-te no longer felt that life was worthwhile, or of any interest. By the time he reached ground level, the fire inside the city had gained intensity and the sound of burning echoed throughout.

Hsing-te went to the North Gate and sat down on a stone. There was no longer anyone in sight. The shouting, harelipped commander was gone, as were the rest of the soldiers. However, Hsing-te perceived the figure of a military commander as clearly as if the man were actually there. It was the image of Wang-li, who had thrust his sword into his mouth and jumped off the cliff. He had fought himself to exhaustion, his sword had broken, his arrows were gone, he had been sapped of all energy and at the end had probably died like that. There was no other way open to him but to take his own life.

For a while Hsing-te sat there. Hot gusts of wind suddenly blew into his face and brought him back to his senses. The fire had brought on the wind, for there had been none a short time before. Smoke rolled along the ground toward Hsing-te. He suddenly noticed a man staggering awkwardly out of the smoke toward him.

“Kuang.” Involuntarily, he called out and stood up. Then Hsing-te saw some camels, partially enveloped by the smoke, slowly emerging from behind Kuang.

As he came up to Hsing-te, Kuang said, “They did a foolish thing that wasted our day’s work. What stupidity to set fire to the place before the enemy arrives. Those bastards!”

Saying this, he looked spitefully at Hsing-te, as though he were placing the whole responsibility of setting the city afire on him. Then he shouted at Hsing-te, “I have some more business with you. Come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“What do you mean, where are we going? Do you plan to stay here? Would you rather roast to death?”

Kuang preceded Hsing-te through the gate. Just outside, he counted the twenty-odd camels which had followed him. Then, pointing with his chin to one of the animals, he ordered Hsing-te to mount.

Hsing-te did as he was told. Actually, he had no place to go. Had Wang-li still been alive, he would have wanted to go to the front, but with Wang-li gone, he no longer held this desire nor cared to join his own forces, which were almost certainly retreating.

Outside the gate, the war cries sounded closer than they had a short time ago. They seemed to be coming from both east and west.

“Where are we going?”

“To the Thousand Buddha Caves. The goods last night were stored away, weren’t they? If you’ve tried to pull something on me, you won’t get away with it. All the trouble we took on that big job was wasted. Now all I can count on are the valuables we stored last night.”

Kuang continued complaining to himself. Hsing-te thought that he would also like to go to the Thousand Buddha Caves. Although he had left everything in the hands of the three monks, he still felt that he would like to make sure how things were. The monks had begun sealing the secret cache, and he thought the work should have been finished by this time, uneven and rough though it may be. If it wasn’t and Kuang learnt of the deception, all hell would break loose.

The two men did not speak until after they had crossed the frozen Tang River and reached the desert. There, in the distant south, was a group of twenty or thirty men, who appeared to be soldiers in retreat, heading westward. Later, they saw several similar groups, one after another. They were all in the south, traveling west. From time to time the wind brought the sound of war cries to their ears.

“Hsing-te!”

Kuang suddenly brought his camel up short and called to Hsing-te. There was something ominous in his expression, and Hsing-te instinctively drew back. But Kuang brought his camel right alongside Hsing-te’s and would not allow Hsing-te to retreat any further.

“What did you do with the necklace? Did you store it in the cache?”

Since Hsing-te remained silent, Kuang continued. “You still have it, don’t you? Give it to me. Don’t be so stubborn. You can’t do anything with it. It’s different now from normal times. Sha-chou has burned, and the Ts’ao dynasty has fallen. Do you know what tomorrow will bring? Even tonight the large Hsi-hsia army may invade this whole area. If we stay around, we’ll probably either starve or be killed.”

When he heard the word “starve,” Hsing-te suddenly realized that he was hungry. He had taken some tasteless food at the unit headquarters that morning, but had had nothing since.

“I’m hungry. Do you have anything to eat?”

“Don’t talk about such silly things.”

Although he spoke roughly, Kuang pulled out some bread from the inside pocket of his fur jacket and handed it to Hsing-te.

“Give that necklace to me. I won’t do anything improper with it.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Do you want to die? If you give me that necklace, I won’t mind sparing your life.”

“I won’t, no matter what you say.”

“What?” With a menacing look, as if he were about to charge at him, Kuang turned toward Hsing-te and said, “If I wanted to kill you, it would be very easy. But I’m telling you that I’ll let you live. Do you want to be like the camel men? I took care of each one of them.”

When he heard the words “camel men,” Hsing-te wondered where the twenty or so men were.

Just then, Kuang stretched out his arm and without warning seized Hsing-te by the front of his jacket.

“Now, give me that necklace! No more delays!” As Kuang spoke, he shook Hsing-te violently.

Hsing-te asked, “Where are the camel men?”

“I took care of them. I packed them into the storehouse at the palace, so they’re probably roasted by now.”

Hsing-te was astonished. “Why did you do such a thing?”

“Naturally I could not let those fellows live. They knew about the secret cache in the Thousand Buddha Caves. It just worked out that I was able to take care of them, and now only you and the three monks remain. But depending upon whether you cooperate or not, I’ll let you live. Now, give me the jewels.”

“No, I won’t.” Hsing-te spoke determinedly. Regardless of whether he placed his life in jeopardy, he would not give up the necklace. Just as Wang-li had not parted with the necklace during his lifetime, he felt that he could not either.

“You refuse in the face of my kindness? Then I’ll kill you!” In the same instant, Hsing-te was pushed off his camel. He had not fallen alone; Kuang also tumbled down with him. And as soon as they hit the ground, Hsing-te was held down by Kuang. He was beaten wildly on his head, face, and all over his body. He didn’t have a chance to strike back, with the heavy blows raining on him. Then, as on a previous occasion, Hsing-te was pulled up, whirled about, then finally thrown on the ground and held down again by Kuang.

In his dim consciousness, Hsing-te felt Kuang open his jacket and take out the necklace hanging in his inner pouch. Just as Kuang grasped the necklace and stood up, Hsing-te struggled up desperately and clung frantically to his opponent’s legs. Kuang was felled by the unexpected assault, and the grappling began again. Just as before, Kuang beat Hsing-te, but he did not strike as many blows because he was holding the necklace.

Then there was an abrupt change in Kuang, who had been sitting astride Hsing-te. He stopped pushing Hsing-te down, and for some reason tried to get up. Hsing-te again clung desperately to Kuang’s legs.

“Let go!” Kuang shouted. Hsing-te would not release him.

“Let go! The cavalry troops are coming!”

To be sure, the earth-shattering sound of hoofbeats of military mounts approaching echoed from the distance.

“Let me go, you bastard!” Kuang shouted frantically. But Hsing-te, who clung to him, was even more desperate. As long as his opponent had the necklace, Hsing-te would not release him, even if it meant he would die.

Kuang began to thrash about wildly. He flung his arms about and kicked his feet. But Hsing-te still clung to him. Catching Kuang off-guard, when his attention was momentarily diverted by the cavalry, Hsing-te stood up and tried to snatch the necklace from Kuang. Hsing-te held one end of the necklace, but the other was still in Kuang’s hand. In the next instant, the strand was pulled taut. The moonstones turned and glittered.

The sound of the neighing of horses and hoofbeats approached the two men with a roar like that of raging surf. Hsing-te saw them come. A huge group of soldiers, who had apparently come from behind a hill, suddenly appeared about thirty yards in front of him and charged forward, covering the surface of the earth like ants. In the vast desert, their direction left no room for doubt that the soldiers were advancing at the two men.

Suddenly Hsing-te felt the necklace snap at his fingertips, then he somersaulted backward and fell. The next moment, he was knocked over by the violent impact of the gigantic force which rushed forward; Hsing-te rolled over a few times down the gentle slope and landed in a ditch. Above him, the black hordes flowed by thunderously. Only a short time had passed, but to Hsing-te it had seemed interminable.

When he regained consciousness, he found that he was completely covered by sand in the ditch. He tried to get up, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure whether he had been run over by horses or had been bruised as he rolled down the slope. His whole body ached. It was miraculous that he had survived at all. Hsing-te looked up at the sky as he lay there. He couldn’t move, but discovering that only his right arm was mobile, he moved it slowly around and felt himself. As he did this, he was startled by something and instinctively raised his arm. The broken string of the necklace had caught round his fingers and hung limply. Not a single stone was left on it. No doubt the stones had scattered the instant the string had snapped.

Night fell slowly. The pale moon gradually grew brighter and soon shone with a reddish glow. Hsing-te felt faint as he stared fixedly at the sky. The stars began to glimmer around the moon, then filled the heavens. His mind was blank. For some reason, he did not even feel the cold. But he was hungry. If only he could get a drop of water. He looked around, but naturally there was nothing in sight. There was only the vast, sandy plain.

Hsing-te suddenly remembered the food that he was offered by Kuang just before their fight. If he only had that, he could stave off starvation temporarily. Setting his mind to this, Hsing-te forced himself up. All his joints ached. Then he saw another man groveling along the ground not far from where he stood. He recognized Kuang immediately. He was searching for something, and from time to time, he scratched the sand with his hand. At first, Hsing-te did not comprehend what Kuang was up to, then he realized that Kuang was searching for the stones from the necklace. It was impossible to find even a single stone in the sandy desert after hundreds of cavalrymen had passed over it.

Hsing-te forgot that he had got up to search for the piece of bread and watched Kuang’s futile efforts. At length, Kuang stood up in the moonlight. For some reason, he just stood there. After a bit, he very slowly thrust his right foot forward. At the same time his arms moved oddly, like those of some mechanical doll. Kuang was injured.

Hsing-te lay down again. The pathetic cries of camels could be heard in the distance. As he listened, he gradually fell into a comatose slumber.

Hsi-hsia gained complete control of the area west of the Yellow River by defeating and devastating Sha-chou and annihilating the Ts’ao dynasty, thus destroying the long Chinese domination. To the five provinces of Hsia-chou, Yin-chou, Sui-chou, Yu-chou, and Ching-chou, long under their domination, the Hsi-hsia added Ling-chou, Kan-chou, Liang-chou, Su-chou, Kua-chou, and Sha-chou; thus Hsi-hsia gained power as well as renown. By a stroke of good fortune the Muslims in Khotan put an end to their eastern expansion, but did not enter Sha-chou after all.

As soon as he had conquered Sha-chou, Yüan-hao divided his great armies into two and established twelve military headquarters, thus tightening the defense of his entire territory.