Chapter 144: Tilqi

Chai Huaixing led his troops on a detour around the vast and boundless Turen Qi. Since descending from the southern mountains—what later generations would call the Kunlun Mountains—and skirting the edges of Turen Qi, they had endured hunger and thirst, traveling by day and resting by night without a moment’s delay. On this day, the soldiers of the Eighth Legion followed a stream originating from the southern mountains, pressing steadily westward. Gradually, they left the southern mountains behind and drew closer to Turen Qi.

In the early autumn desert, there was not a hint of coolness. The endless sea of sand, under the blazing sun, became unbearably scorching. Heat waves surged forth from the desert sands, licking at the few remaining patches of green. The rising heat shimmered under the sunlight, forming a wavering, illusory mirage that lifted from the yellow sands before dissolving into the vast expanse of sky and earth.

“Legion commander, the stream ends here. According to the records, the water should be flowing underground at this point. If we venture deeper into Turen Qi, the risks become too great. Once we lose all trace of the water source, the army will be in grave danger,” a staff officer stepped forward and reported to Chai Huaixing.

“What does Tierqi say? He’s the craftiest fox in this desert; he should be able to find the hidden water veins beneath the sand,” Chai Huaixing asked the officer, gazing toward the distant desert.

Tierqi was a native of Yutian County in Qiemu, a member of the Hetian people. In his youth, he had accompanied merchant caravans repeatedly through Turen Qi, relying on his expertise in crossing the desert to evade taxes. Tierqi was his family name—his lineage had made a living for generations guiding caravans through the desert, earning them the moniker “foxes of the desert” among those familiar with their skill and cunning.

Since smuggling merchants across the desert was illegal, Tierqi’s ancestors dared not reveal their true names. Instead, they chose the honorific “fox” from the praises of others, adopting it as a surname pronounced in Turkic, and within the family, only one person at a time could bear the name Tierqi. When one died, the next could assume the title. A Tierqi was forbidden from initiating contact with the family; each month, family members would collect his earnings, leaving him only a small sum for daily expenses.

Later, when Li Wenyuan reconquered the eight counties of the Western Regions and implemented new policies, merchants accepted more reasonable taxation. After all, the desert was no easy path, and every crossing could be a final journey. While Tierqi’s expertise minimized casualties, significant loss of goods was inevitable—a natural calamity beyond anyone’s control.

Consequently, as many merchants weighed the risks and decided no longer to brave the perilous desert crossings, Tierqi lost his source of income. Moreover, since his deeds were illegal, his family refused to take him back. Abandoned, disheartened, Tierqi sold all his property and drank heavily for three days. On the fourth day, he surrendered himself to the local judicial authorities.

After a thorough investigation, the authorities reported the matter to Li Wenyuan. Upon reviewing the case, Li Wenyuan could only admire the man’s expertise and ordered that Tierqi be dealt with according to the law but with a deferred sentence. He was to compile his survival skills and knowledge of desert navigation into a book, with no omissions. The value of this book would then determine whether his punishment could be mitigated.

With Li Wenyuan’s approval, the judicial department faithfully executed the order. Tax evasion under Western Region laws incurred a hundredfold fine, along with the inheritance of debts from father to son. Tierqi was required to pay a hundredfold penalty on all his accumulated wealth.

This was a death sentence for Tierqi, already penniless. Worse, the authorities had located his offspring and laid out the evidence before him. At that moment, he felt his world collapse, as if the sky had darkened and the earth swallowed him whole.

However, the officials then informed him that due to his voluntary confession and relatively good reputation among neighbors, his punishment could be deferred. During this period, he must disclose all his survival and navigation techniques without concealment. The resulting book would determine whether his sentence could be lifted.

Grasping at this lifeline like a drowning man, Tierqi eagerly agreed. Illiterate by nature, having learned his craft only through oral tradition, he arranged for several scribes to record everything he said.

Thus, Tierqi was placed under house arrest, receiving daily provisions while he recounted all he had learned since childhood and acquired through desert practice. Within a few months, volumes of material filled several rooms. Later, under Li Wenyuan’s direction, scholars were assembled to help organize the information, culminating in the first comprehensive desert survival manual of the Sui Dynasty. Li Wenyuan ordered the book’s publication and distribution to military academies, political schools, and training camps.

Thanks to this book, Tierqi ultimately offset his penalties and even became an instructor at Li Wenyuan’s military academy, teaching and refining desert survival techniques, thereby enhancing the Western Region army’s adaptability. Having experienced a new way of life, Tierqi, at a family gathering, resolutely refused all entreaties to return and announced his permanent severance from the clan that had abandoned him in his darkest hour.

After leaving his family, Tierqi reestablished his lineage under his own name, married, and raised children, living a lively and fulfilling life. Later, by chance, he encountered members of the judicial department who had once sought to punish him. To express his gratitude for the second chance they had granted him, Tierqi approached them to offer a toast. During the convivial gathering, they disclosed Li Wenyuan’s personal directive that Tierqi’s book had served to redeem his guilt, deeply moving him.

As the saying goes, a scholar dies for those who understand him. Upon hearing that Chai Huaixing’s southern army was about to march along the edge of Turen Qi, Tierqi volunteered to serve as their guide, ensuring their safe passage through the desert and enabling a surprise attack on the Yutian Kingdom.

(End of chapter)