Chapter 22: The Khitan (Part II)

The exact strength of the Western Liao army remains unrecorded, though it is known that their left and right wings each numbered only 2,500 soldiers. Yelü Dashi personally commanded the center, positioning himself at the exit of a canyon to utilize the terrain for rear-guard defense. Within the canyon, an unknown number of local vassal troops were stationed.

As the battle commenced, neither side employed unconventional stratagems, opting instead for a direct, three-pronged frontal assault. The initial exchange was evenly matched, but during the regrouping phase, Sanjar keenly observed a gap forming between the Western Liao center and their right wing.

Seizing this opportunity, Sanjar ordered his left wing to charge and exploit the breach. With their superior numbers, the Seljuk army tore through the connections between the Western Liao units, pushing the Western Liao center to the left. The Seljuk center and right wing also advanced, preparing to encircle the enemy.

However, the scattered Western Liao right wing did not collapse; they continued to fight, maneuvering around the left flank of the Seljuk army. Perceiving the shift on the battlefield, Yelü Dashi did not attempt to reinforce them, trusting instead in the combat prowess of his subordinates. He directed his center to engage the entire Seljuk force while ordering his left wing to maneuver laterally and envelop the Seljuk right flank.

In this manner, the two Western Liao wings seized the moment to complete their pincer movement, successfully trapping the enemy’s 100,000 men with only a few thousand soldiers.

The Seljuk main force, including Sanjar himself, was squeezed into the canyon behind the Western Liao line, where the light infantry of the vassal forces took the opportunity to ambush them. Under the onslaught, the Seljuk army suffered a catastrophic defeat, with Sanjar escaping with only a dozen attendants. The Seljuk dead lay strewn for dozens of miles; their left and right-wing commanders, a large number of nobles, and even Sanjar’s wife were captured alive by the Western Liao.

The results of this battle sent a profound shockwave throughout the Islamic world.

While there is no definitive figure for the Seljuk losses on the battlefield, later historians estimate them to be between 30,000 and 50,000. Yet, the greatest issue was not the loss of common soldiers.

To ensure victory, Sanjar had drawn from his elite units across his domains. The "Complete History" records that 12,000 Islamic jurists fell in this battle alone, remarking that "there has never been a greater war in the history of Islam, nor greater casualties in Khorasan."

These men were the true grassroots administrators of the Islamic regimes, the foundation of their rule, roughly equivalent to the clergy and knights of Europe. The loss of common soldiers could be replenished, but the loss of these men could not be recovered in the short term.

The wealth and prestige Sanjar had spent his life building were wiped out in an instant. Thereafter, he was even kidnapped by nomadic tribes and reduced to a puppet.

The Seljuk Empire disintegrated once more, and the Western Liao became the de facto hegemon. Even the Caliph, when bullied by the Turks, would seek their mediation.

The subsequent "Shogun Sultans" were replaced by the Khwarazmians. Yet, they were perhaps the weakest of all sultans. While claiming hegemony over the Islamic world, they remained tributary to the Western Liao, long dependent on their military might.

When the Khwarazmians could not defeat the Ghurid Dynasty of Afghanistan, the Western Liao sent troops into Afghanistan to crush the Ghurid army for them; when the Khwarazmians failed against the remnants of the Seljuks in Persia, they again begged the Western Liao to intervene and settle the matter. Consequently, by paying tribute and hiring others to fight their battles, they successfully "marched on the capital" of Baghdad.

The only stroke of fortune was that the Western Liao did not, like the Turkic tribes, adopt "new ideologies." They remained traditionally fixated on the East, dreaming daily of returning to their homeland, and had no interest in entering Baghdad to seize the Caliph, thus avoiding a shock that would have further shattered the worldviews of the Persians and Arabs.

The exploits of Yelü Dashi spread to Europe, where he was transformed into a mythical figure. Among the Crusaders, rumors persisted of a Prester John in the East—a ruler of immense power who would help them eradicate the infidels. This myth was widely believed for centuries and exerted influence even into the modern era.

Guo Kang himself actually benefited from the legacy of Yelü Dashi.

In Mongolia, the Western Regions, and Central Asia, people effectively could not distinguish between Han Chinese and Khitans. For instance, the Mongolian language lacks separate terms to describe the difference. Official translations from the Yuan and Ming dynasties were explicit: the Khitan of the Mongolian language was written as "Han" in Chinese, but read as "Khitan." It was the same term.

In more distant lands, within the worldviews of the Persians, Arabs, and Eastern Romans, the concept of "Tabgach" (Tawghach) was formed. They believed that from the Central Asian interfluve eastward, all lands belonged to "Tabgach." The Kara-Khanid Khanate of Central Asia considered themselves part of Tabgach, viewing Central Asia to the Western Regions as "Lower Tabgach," the Liao Kingdom as "Middle Tabgach," and the Song as "Upper Tabgach."

The origin of this term is unclear, but its scope was distinct: it encompassed the former territories of the Tang Dynasty.

For those who migrated overseas during this era, the Tang Dynasty was a concept that had long vanished, yet remained omnipresent. The Liao and Western Liao carried the influence of the Tang forward, ultimately resulting in the situation Guo Kang witnessed today.

Westerners might not know the origins of his Guo clan. But his face alone was enough. For a very long time, Persian warlords would pay handsomely to hire the Khitan remnants brought by the Western Liao to serve as their commanders. Whether they possessed sufficient military skill did not matter; merely by showing their faces at the front, letting the enemy realize that Easterners were in command, they could project a powerful deterrent.

When Guo Kang first arrived in this world, he also found it absurd: the Kara-Khanid princes residing in Bukhara would repeatedly declare everywhere, "I am Chinese," terrified that others might not know.

Among Tamerlane’s subordinates, there was once a great general named "Khitan Batur." It is difficult to explain why a Turkicized Mongol would call himself a "Han Warrior," but in this day and age, everyone took pleasure in it.

People of his own original era would find such a situation hard to imagine. Back then, it would likely have been dismissed as overly awkward "Wolf Warrior" behavior.

Guo Kang had once complained about this phenomenon to Tuohuan and the others, but his tongue slipped, and he used a term that did not belong to this era. To his surprise, Tuohuan loved the term, adopting the title "Khitan Wolf Warrior" and boasting about it to everyone he met.

Strictly speaking, the four hereditary noble houses participating in today's meeting all had somewhat questionable lineages: the Guo family from the Yanyun Guos, the Li family from the Shatuo Lis, the Shi family from the Turkic Ashina clan, and the Cao family from the Zhaowu Caos of Central Asia. By the standards of the Southern Song, who claimed to be the orthodox Han, none of these four families were "proper" Han.

Thus, although they were called "Han hereditary nobles" by the locals, it was hard to say if they truly were. In such circumstances, rather than accepting the theories of the Song Dynasty, it was better to continue identifying with the "Tabgach—Tang" identity.

By the time it reached Roman territory, this scope had expanded even further. Today, the Southern Office Army even counted Greeks as "Han hereditary nobles."

However, these Greek nobles had let their martial skills atrophy, and being adept only at undermining one another, they were not truly skilled in battle, leading Li Xuanying to once suggest that they all change their surnames to Zhao. Thus, there were no such high-ranking generals among them for the time being.