[Yun]

I wrote this for another thread, but thought it would be useful in this section too:

In 756, the An Lushan Rebellion had broken out and the Tang court desperately needed to get the Uyghurs on their side to fight An Lushan. So when they sent the Prince of Dunhuang, Li Chengcai to get Uyghur support, and the Uyghur kaghan (Yingwu Kaghan) married his daughter to Li Chengcai, not only did Tang Xuanzong accept this but he also gave the Uyghur girl the title of Princess of Pijia.

This 'daughter' was actually a sister of the kaghan's queen whom he had taken as an adopted daughter for the purpose of the marriage alliance with the Tang. The Pijia (Bilge) in the title given by the Tang to this 'princess' was a traditional title among the Uyghur.

In 758, after the Uyghur had helped the Tang to retake Luoyang and Chang'an, Emperor Suzong (Li Heng) married his youngest daughter, Princess Ningguo, to the Yingwu Kaghan. The princess was given the title of kedun (Queen) by the kaghan. This was the first time in history that a Chinese emperor gave his own daughter as a bride to a ruler of a foreign ethnicity. In fact, the daughter of Prince Rong (a member of the imperial house) also went along as a concubine for the Yingwu Kaghan.

In 759, the Yingwu Kaghan passed away. Princess Ningguo, widowed after just a year of marriage, chose to return to the Tang court. But the daughter of Prince Rong stayed on and married the next kaghan (Yingyi Kaghan, son of Yingwu Kaghan), being raised to the rank of kedun and addressed as the Lesser Princess Ningguo. After the Yingyi Kaghan was killed by his general Tun Bagha Tarkhan in 779, the Lesser Princess lived alone as a widow and died in 791.

The Yingyi Kaghan also married two daughters of the great Tang general Pugu Huai'en (of Tie'le ethnicity): one in 758 when he was still heir to the kaghanate (she was given the kedun title along with the Lesser Princess Ningguo when he became kaghan in 759), and one in 768 after the first daughter passed away. It's interesting that by 768, Pugu Huai'en had died and was considered a rebel. He had been accused of conspiring with the Uyghurs in 763, and in his anger rose in rebellion with the Uyghurs, Tibetans, Tuyuhun and Tanguts but suddenly died of illness in 765. Guo Ziyi then won the Uyghurs back to the side of the Tang. But Pugu Huai'en's youngest daughter was still given the title of Princess Chonghui by the Tang court and married to the Uyghur kaghan in 768 - probably because Huai'en's prestige among the Uyghurs was so high.

Tun Bagha Tarkhan took over as the Uyghur ruler, but did not have official recognition from the Tang court. Hence in 787, he sent an envoy to the Tang court to request a Tang princess in marriage. Emperor Dezong was persuaded by his prime minister Li Mi to agree to this, and sent his eighth daughter Princess Xian'an to be Tun Bargha's kedun in 788, on five conditions including that Tun Bargha declared himself the 'son' and subject of the Tang. Tun Bargha was also given the title of Tianqin Kaghan.

The Tianqin Kaghan died in 790, and Princess Xian'an had to marry three more kaghans in succession: the Zhongzhen Kaghan (790-795), the Fengcheng Kaghan (795-805), and the Huaixin Kaghan (805-808). The Zhongzhen Kaghan was killed and overthrown in 795, so the Princess married a general of the Ediz tribe who became the Fengcheng Kaghan. She lived among the Uyghur 21 years, dying in the same year as the Huaixin Kaghan. It is often forgotten in Chinese histories that princesses like her who were married off to Central Asian rulers often had to observe the custom of the land and marry the son or the successor upon the death of their husband. This happened to Liu Jieyou, the Wusun Princess during the time of Han Wudi, and also the famous Wang Zhaojun.

After Princess Xian'an's death, the Uyghurs requested another princess from the Tang. This was turned down until Emperor Xianzong finally agreed in 820 because the Tibetans were a constant threat and the Tang needed to keep the Uyghurs from allying with the Tibetans. However, Xianzong died before this could take place. His son who succeeded him (Emperor Muzong) then had his tenth sister given the title of Princess Taihe in 822 and sent to be the kedun of the Chongde Kaghan. This was the last Tang-Uyghur royal marriage before the destruction of the Uyghur kaghante by the Khirghiz in 840.

In 835, Princess Taihe actually sent the Tang court a gift of seven female Uyghur horse-archers, and two Shato Turk slave boys! In 841, after the Uyghur Hesa Kaghan was killed by the Khirghiz, the last Uyghur kaghan Wujie Kaghan (who had been nominated to the position by the various chiefs) fled to the Tang, bringing Princess Taihe with him.

[Yun]

Some additional points:

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In 758, after the Uyghur had helped the Tang to retake Luoyang and Chang'an, Emperor Suzong (Li Heng) married his youngest daughter, Princess Ningguo, to the Yingwu Kaghan. The princess was given the title of kedun (Queen) by the kaghan. This was the first time in history that a Chinese emperor gave his own daughter as a bride to a ruler of a foreign ethnicity. In fact, the daughter of Prince Rong (a member of the imperial house) also went along as a concubine for the Yingwu Kaghan.

In 759, the Yingwu Kaghan passed away. Princess Ningguo, widowed after just a year of marriage, chose to return to the Tang court.

When Princess Ningguo left to marry the Uyghur kaghan, she wept and told her father Suzong, "I would die without regrets for the sake of the country." Suzong could not help weeping too. When the Yingwu kaghan died the following year, the Uyghurs asked Princess Ningguo to be buried with him according to their customs. She refused, saying, "The Uyghurs admire the customs of the Central Plains, and that is why the Kaghan took a Tang princess as his wife. If now you insist on following your own customs, what was the point of me coming all the way here?" But she did use a knife to slash her own face to show her grief, according to steppe custom. Later, she was allowed to return to the Tang court.

[Note: I'm not sure why the Uyghurs did not ask her to marry the next Kaghan, as they did for the later princesses. Perhaps burial with one's husband was their original custom?]

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But the daughter of Prince Rong stayed on and married the next kaghan (Yingyi Kaghan, son of Yingwu Kaghan), being raised to the rank of kedun and addressed as the Lesser Princess Ningguo. After the Yingyi Kaghan was killed by his general Tun Bagha Tarkhan in 779, the Lesser Princess lived alone as a widow and died in 791.

The Yingyi Kaghan was actually killed by Tun Bagha Tarkhan because he planned to invade the Tang. Tun Bargha opposed this, saying that Tang was a huge empire, and the consequences of defeat could be disastrous for the Uyghurs. The Yingyi Kaghan refused to listen, and was then murdered.

[Yun]

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you mention that it was the first time in history that a chinese emperor had given his daughter to a ofrieng ruler, i have to disagree, princess wencheng and princess jin cheng were marreid to tibetan kings and had occured before 758 ,also the marriage of persian to tnag dynasty royalty

Princess Wencheng and Princess Jincheng were the daughters of imperial princes, not the emperor himself.

And let's not start on the Persian issue here. There is no evidence of Tang princesses marrying Persian shahs.

[Yun]

Chineseman, it's the website that made mistakes. I have referred to the official dynastic history of the Tang (the Xin Tangshu), and:

1) Princess Wencheng was a daughter of one of the imperial aristocrats, selected to be married off to the Tubo ruler. Hence she was referred to as a 'zongnu' (woman of the imperial aristocracy).

2) Princess Jincheng was the daughter of the Prince of Yong, Li Shouli.

Don't believe everything that you read on the internet. Wherever possible, try to read the primary sources.

[Yun]

Chineseman, I have moved our last few posts on your ancestry to this thread: http://www.chinahist...opic=2768&st=45

I think it is more relevant there.

[Yun]

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After Princess Xian'an's death, the Uyghurs requested another princess from the Tang. This was turned down until Emperor Xianzong finally agreed in 820 because the Tibetans were a constant threat and the Tang needed to keep the Uyghurs from allying with the Tibetans. However, Xianzong died before this could take place. His son who succeeded him (Emperor Muzong) then had his tenth sister given the title of Princess Taihe in 822 and sent to be the kedun of the Chongde Kaghan. This was the last Tang-Uyghur royal marriage before the destruction of the Uyghur kaghante by the Khirghiz in 840.

In 835, Princess Taihe actually sent the Tang court a gift of seven female Uyghur horse-archers, and two Shato Turk slave boys! In 841, after the Uyghur Hesa Kaghan was killed by the Khirghiz, the last Uyghur kaghan Wujie Kaghan (who had been nominated to the position by the various chiefs) fled to the Tang, bringing Princess Taihe with him.

I have just been reading a fascinating new book, Tang China and the Collapse of the Uyhgur Empire by Michael R. Drommp. In it, he reconstructs from the extant bureaucratic letters and memorials of the famous Prime Minister Li Deyu the story of a hostage crisis involving Princess Taihe in 842-843. It seems that Oga (Wujie) Kaghan did not flee to the Tang with Princess Taihe, but rather used her as a hostage to negotiate with the Tang for recognition as the sole ruler of the Uyghurs.

In the winter of 839, the Uyghur kaghanate was weakened by famine, internal coups and a long rebellion by the Khirgiz (or Kyrgyz) people in the Yenisei River Valley. A rebel Uyghur general led a large Khirgiz army to attack the Uyghur capital, killing the new Uyghur kaghan (Hesa) and setting off great Uyghur migrations to the west and south. The Khirgiz ruler captured Princess Taihe, and sent her back towards the Tang empire with an armed escort.

Those Uyghurs who fled westward set up new states in the Gansu Corridor and Tarim Basin, where they still live today. But those who fled south to the northern frontier of the Tang faced a grimmer fate. The Uyghur refugees were split into two groups under rival leaders: Ormizt Tigin, a rebel prince, and Oga Kaghan, who had been made the new kaghan by 13 Uyghur tribes. Ormizt fled to China with his followers in the autumn of 840, submitting himself to the Tang court and asking for protection and refuge. Oga kaghan, on the other hand, ambushed the Khirgiz escorts bringing Princess Taihe south, and held her as a hostage to demand that the Tang court hand Ormizt over and supply him (Oga) with livestock, provisions, and even a city to live in on the frontier.

The Tang court had no intention of complying with Oga's demands. They had given asylum to Ormizt and would not go back on that at the risk of damaging their prestige among the 'barbarians', and they wished to see Oga eliminated so that the threat from the powerful Uyghur kaghanate would be ended once and for all. Just as in 742, the Tang had collaborated with the emerging Uyghurs to dismember the Second Eastern Turkut kaghante, now 100 years later they would collaborate with the Khirgiz to destroy the Uyghurs. But the problem was how to secure the freedom of Princess Taihe, who was Emperor Wuzong's aunt and must not be allowed to come to any harm...

(To be continued)

[Yun]

(Continued)

In mid-842, Ormizt Tigin (who was being sheltered wth his followers at the Tiande garrison) was given official ranks, a new name of Li Sizhong (meaning "mindful of loyalty" and bearing the honorary imperial surname 'Li'), and allowed to settle in a city near Taiyuan. His followers were renamed the Return to Righteousness Army (Guiyi Jun), with Ormizt as their Imperial Commissioner. When one of his subordinates, Naghid Chor Tigin, rebelled and fled eastwards to the border of Youzhou province (the area of present-day Beijing), Naghid Chor was intercepted by 30,000 Youzhou troops (under the semi-autonomous warlord Zhang Zhongwu) and defeated, with 30,000 Uyghurs captured. Naghid Chor himself escaped but was later captured and killed by Oga Kaghan (who was encamped to the east of Ormizt, near the Zhenwu garrison).

The Tang court embraced Ormizt Tigin as a poster boy of 'barbarians embracing civilisation', but snubbed Oga Kaghan who was waiting further north . Ormizt would not be handed over to Oga, since the former was now under the Tang emperor's protection. Livestock would not be supplied to feed Oga's men because oxen in China were important for plowing and not used for food, and there was no sheep-rearing in China. Grain would not be given to Oga; instead, he was given permission to use silk from the old horses-for-silk trade between the Uyghurs and Tang to buy grain at Zhenwu. Oga would not be given a frontier city to live in; instead, he was urged to return with his followers to the steppe. Even Oga's request that Manichaeism (the state religion of the Uyghurs) continue to be protected in China met with a cold response from the Tang court:

"The Manichaean religion was forbidden in China prior to the Tianbao reign period (742-756). After that, its propagation was allowed because of the Uyghurs' devout faith, and it was ordered that the religion be taught in all the several garrisons of Jiangxi and Huainan. Recently We have received memorials from each of these circuits stating that since hearing of the destruction of the Uyghurs, those who believed in the Manichaean faith consequently have become remiss in their devotion. The foreign priests who are members of your sect seem rather to be without support. Wu and Chu are watery places; people's dispositions there are inconstant. Their faith has already gone, and the harmonious practice of the Manichaean religion is quite difficult.

... We have deep consideration for the Manichaean priests who have come from distant lands, and wish them to be settled securely. Thus, We have ordered them to practice their religion in the areas of the two capitals (Chang'an and Luoyang) and of Taiyuan where there are believers. All of the Manichaean temples in Jiangxi and Huainan have been temporarily closed. We will wait until the Uyghurs' homeland is at peace again, and then We will rescind the order so that things will be as before."

Indeed, 3 years later (in 845) the Tang court proclaimed a proscription of all 'foreign' religions, including Manichaeism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism. Contrary to the Tang court's claim that the Manichaeans in south China had given up the religion, and despite the persecution of what the Tang court after 845 called an "evil doctrine", Manichaeism survived underground in south China for many centuries - through the Song and Yuan dynasties, and until its final proscription by the Ming.

[Yun]

(now for the Hostage Crisis...)

The recovery of Princess Taihe was a major priority for the Tang court in its negotiations with Oga Kaghan. Intelligence reports had revealed that the Princess and the Kaghan had their own tents and conducted separate interviews with Tang envoys. Indeed, the first embassy from Oga Kaghan to the Tang court in early 842 had included both an envoy from the Princess, and an Uyghur minister bringing a petition from Oga. It might thus be possible to have an envoy speak to her privately and make plans with her for an escape from the Uyghur camp.

In the autumn of 842, Prime Minister Li Deyu wrote on Emperor Wuzong's behalf a letter each to Oga Kaghan and Princess Taihe. The letter to Oga urged him to return to the steppe and accused him of intentions to attack China. It also blamed him for a recent raid on Hengshui Palisade by a group of Uyghurs, although these were probably remnants of Naghid Chor Tigin's followers - Li Deyu recognised this but used the incident for moral capital to use against Oga. The letter to Princess Taihe contained words of commiseration and concern:

"Our Paternal Aunt was given in marriage to a far-off, distant land more than 20 years ago [at that time Princess Taihe was not yet 26]. Your travels have been dangerous and difficult; you have experienced a full measure of grief and bitterness. Each time We think of this, We feel very much at a loss."

But there was also a request for the Princess to use whatever influence she still had among the Uyghurs to defuse the crisis:

"You are their queen, able to command. If the Uyghurs cannot accept your commands, then this is tantamount to renunciation of our good marriage connections. From today hence, they must not use Our Paternal Aunt as an excuse. If they rely on Us as a relative, and thus receive Our Paternal Aunt's commands, then they must themselves cease their warlike actions in order to continue our former felicity.

We think that if Our Paternal Aunt could convey the sense of Our letter to their generals and ministers, it would cause those who understand the difference between right and wrong to display even less wrong behaviour."

With the letter came some items of winter clothing for her, since it was assumed that the Uyghurs had not enough silk clothing to clothe her properly.

Some days later, Li Deyu wrote another letter to an Uyghur minister urging him to arrange for the release of Princess Taihe. At the same time, preparations were being made for an attack by Tang troops on Oga Kaghan's camp, both to free the Princess and neutralise the Uyghur threat. The Uyghurs, who were running out of food supplies, also began raiding for cattle and sheep. Princess Taihe wrote a letter requesting cattle and sheep from the Emperor, but this request was not granted.

On 4 October 842, Li Deyu submitted a memorial expressing that he had given up on negotiation because Oga Kaghan continued refusing to either submit to Tang authority, or return to the steppe. He recommended an assault on the Uyghur camp the next spring, when the climate would be more favourable than in winter.

(watch out for the next part: "The Mission of Secret Agent Cai Xi" )

[Yun]

Liu Mian, the Military Governor (Jiedushi) of Hedong, was chosen to direct the Tang attack on Oga Kaghan. Liu was an experienced and skilled border general around 60 years old, and had until 5 months ago been Military Governor of Zhenwu. Now, he was given the additional title of "Uyghur pacification commissioner". To assist him were Zhang Zhongwu and Ormizt Tigin, appointed as the eastern and southwestern commissioners respectively.

Li Deyu arranged to purchase horses, in which the Tang army was seriously lacking, from frontier peoples like the Tangut and Tuyuhun, and move them to a secure place where they could be used for the operation without danger of being stolen by the Uyghurs.

At the same time, Zhang Zhongwu in Youzhou arranged for the Shiwei, Xi (Tatabi) and Khitan peoples on his northern border to murder their Uyghur overseers. Apparently, the Uyghur kaghanate had maintained control over these vassal peoples by stationing overseers among them to collect taxes and supervise their contacts with the Tang court. The vassal peoples had also been required to send important hostages to the Uyghurs as a guarantee of their loyalty. When Zhang Zhongwu had defeated Naghid Chor Tigin's rebel force, he had captured the wife and son of the Shiwei ruler, who were hostages and had ended up in Naghid Chor's group. The Shiwei ruler had tried to ransom his wife and son from Zhang Zhongwu with various treasures like sheep, horses, gold and silk. But Zhang Zhongwu replied that he wanted only one thing from the Shiwei in exchange for the hostages - they were to kill their Uyghur overseers. This the Shiwei quickly did.

Prior to this, Zhang had already sent a military official to persuade the Xi and Khitan to execute all the Uyghur overseers among them - it is recorded that more than 800 people, including the overseers, their families, and their bodyguards, as well as local collaborators, were killed. It was a ruthless move to wipe out the last traces of Uyghur dominance in the north ever since the An Lushan rebellion, and reassert Tang supremacy.

Meanwhile, Liu Mian was looking for a spy to send into Oga Kaghan's camp. That spy soon volunteered himself - his name was Cai Xi, and he owed Liu Mian a heavy debt that he now intended to repay...

(to be continued)

[Yun]

Cai Xi was from a military family that had lived in the Zhenwu garrison for centuries. Our main account of him, written in 850/851 by a scholar named Li Qi, says that he was a good swordsman, calm and brave, and fond of "unusual strategies" but reckless in his younger days. During Liu Mian's term as Military Governor of Zhenwu, Cai had gotten into a fight and apparently killed a man. He was imprisoned and sentenced to be executed by whipping, but Liu Mian somehow arranged for the dead man to come alive again that night. Whether this was because the man had only gone into a coma, or was simply a cover-up by Liu Mian, is not explained. But Cai Xi thereafter saw Liu Mian as his benefactor, even though Cai was banished to do garrison duty on the frontier for a few years as punishment for fighting.

During the Uyghur crisis, Cai Xi found out that Liu Mian (now Military Governor of Hedong) had been tasked with dealing with the Uyghurs. He then left his post without permission and rushed to beg Liu Mian to let him help, even if it was "to serve at the vanguard of the army like a dog or horse". He declared that he would willingly lay down his life to repay Liu Mian.

Liu Mian then had Cai Xi added to his army, and soon found a dangerous mission for the volunteer. Oga Kaghan's Uyghurs had moved closer to Zhenwu, and Liu Mian was worried that the Zhenwu garrison would rescue the princess and gain the credit for it, even though he had been put in charge of the operation. He was an old general, but still hungry for honour, rewards and promotion. So he wanted Cai Xi to trick the Uyghurs into moving to the Hedong frontier.

In November/December 842, Cai Xi pretended to be pursuing an escaped criminal and entered the Uyghur camp. He then told the Uyghurs that the Zhenwu garrison was determined to kill them all, and they should move over to Hedong to be safe. This had quite an effect - before long, 30,000 Uyghurs, including two princes, a princess, a minister, and a general, went even further east than Hedong and surrendered to Zhang Zhongwu at the border of Youzhou. The remaining part of Oga Kaghan's army also moved eastwards somewhat, to the north of Hedong, 200 li from Liu Mian's forces.

Cai Xi then returned to Liu Mian and reported this. Liu Mian worried that the imperial court would need prisoners as proof of the Uyghurs' movements, and Cai thus left again and captured 12 prisoners and 15 horses. Liu Mian then submitted a memorial to the throne. The emperor sent him a series of edicts ordering him to rescue the princess, but Liu Mian stil felt that the Uyghur camp was too far away for a successful raid. Cai Xi then volunteered again to enter their camp and entice them to come closer with goods and provisions.

Cai Xi returned to the Uyghur camp in December 842 or January 843. He managed to meet Princess Taihe, who wept and told him all about the collapse of the Uyghur kaghanate and their current suffering from disease, famine, isolation, and the looming danger of attack by Tang or Khirgiz forces. Cai Xi asked her why she had not tried to persuade Oga Kaghan to enter Tang territory for asylum, or to let her go back to the Tang. She replied that Oga had clearly refused and would not relent.

Cai Xi then went to request an audience with Oga Kaghan. A high official (tarkan) prevented him, however, by arguing that the Kaghan was busy trying to restore his empire, and should not meet a foreign envoy now. Cai Xi would only be allowed to relay a message to Oga through a chief minister. Cai then met the minister, who bitterly complained that the Tang took no pity on the sick and hungry Uyghurs and had sent an envoy only to gloat at their misfortune. Cai replied by lying that the Tang had captured 12 Uyghurs only to question them about the whereabouts of Oga kaghan, of which the Tang court was ignorant. He also told the minister that Liu Mian had sent him with ten camel-loads of provisions for the Princess, the Kaghan, and the chief ministers. Furthermore, the Tang court had asked the Uyghurs to move southward so that it would be easier to aid them and assess their plight.

The Uyghur minister was not at all convinced. He said that they had recently committed acts of raiding out of desperation, and Cai Xi must be here to mislead and kill them as retaliation for those raids. He then pushed Cai out of the tent and ordered soldiers with crossbows to surround him. "If you do not disclose the actual facts of your coming here," the minister threatened, "They will shoot to kill!"

Cai Xi maintained his cover, saying, "In truth, my country ordered me to welcome you and show pity on you. If you believe me, then go southward; if you doubt me, then why not leave this place? For you foreigners, it will be too late for regrets! What benefit would there be in mistreating me now?"

The minister was still sceptical: "If we leave, what regrets can we have?"

Cai Xi replied, "The Kaghan is a great foreign leader and a relative of the Tang imperial house. There is between them the kindness of uncle and nephew, and the strength of mutual reliance. If you have suffered ruin, it is only fitting that you come to the Tang. But if you enter the territories of the various petty foreign peoples and are held in contempt by them, how can this not be regretted?"

The minister said, "We would go to the Tang now, but fear that your superiors will deceive us. If you truly welcome us and encourage us to come, then swear a weighty oath with us."

Cai Xi declared, "Usually people who take an oath [falsely] are nervous about it, and wish to qualify their terms and conditions. But Cai Xi's oath-taking is different." He stretched out his hands and asked the minister to cut off his left hand at the wrist to prove his sincerity. According to Li Qi's account, at this moment Cai Xi's facial complexion remained unchanged (i.e. did not go pale) and his speech was "quite resolute".

The Uyghur minister backed down and said that it would be enough for Cai to cut open the flesh above his heart, collect some of his blood in a vessel, and drink it. Cai Xi promptly cut his flesh, collected the blood, and made this oath before drinking it all down: "If I duplicitously mislead you into entering the Tang border, then may Heaven strike me dead - boil me alive and mince me for pickling."

Having decided that Cai was trustworthy, the Uyghurs shifted their camp further south to Yunzhou, 60 li east of Liu Mian's forces. But soon, their hunger caused them to again raid Zhenwu for food, on the pretext of going on a hunt. This was around 3 February 843, and Oga Kaghan again encamped near Zhenwu after the raid. Cai Xi's efforts to get the Uyghurs to move to Yunzhou from Zhenwu had thus been wasted in the end - except that the Uyghurs had now let down their guard against a Tang attack, and were also weary from the raid and vulnerable to a sudden strike. He was anxious to report this to Liu Mian, and thus asked to return to Hedong to get more provisions for the Uyghurs. The Uyghurs let him go, and he quickly went to Liu Mian and urged him that now was the time to attack.

Liu Mian agreed - the Uyghurs were not as near as he would have liked, but the element of surprise would compensate for that. He began moving his troops to Yunzhou, from whence they would advance to Zhenwu under the cover of night and strike the Uyghur camp with such suddenness that it was hoped the Uyghurs would abandon Princess Taihe in their confusion, allowing her to be rescued...

(Next: The Night Raid on the Uyghur Camp)

[Yun]

[After a delay of two months, here at last is the next part of the story...]

In October-November 842, there had been some complex discussions in the Tang court about what military role Ormizt Tigin would play in the planned attack on his rival Oga Kaghan. Ormizt had requested that all the Tuyuhun, Shatuo and other non-Han troops in the operation be placed under his command. He already had his own Uyghur troops and a force of Tanguts. But Li Deyu was unwilling to transfer all non-Han troops to Ormizt, as it had become essential by this period for every Chinese army at the northern frontier to have at least 100 or 200 non-Han cavalry to serve as scouts. Without non-Han troops, Liu Mian's main Hedong army would be unable to move out, and so would the vanguard under General Shi Xiong, which mainly consisted of Tangut, Shatuo, and Qibi (Tiele) troops. On 10 November, Li Deyu proposed that only half of Liu Mian's Shatuo troops be transferred to Ormizt, and this compromise was approved by the court.

Li Deyu decided to give Ormizt 6,000 Tuyuhun and Shatuo cavalry, as well as two non-Han generals from the Tang army as adjutants. These two generals were He Qingchao (possibly a Sogdian) and Qibi Tong (a Tiele and descendant of Tang Taizong's famous general Qibi Heli).

However, two new problems appeared. One was that there was a longstanding grudge between the Tuyuhun (who were a branch of the Murong Xianbei who had migrated to from Liaoning all the way to Qinghai) and the Uyghurs. which would make it risky to place Tuyuhun under Ormizt's authority. The other was that He Qingchao and Qibi Tong both objected to being placed under the command of Ormizt. On 11-12 November, a solution was reached in which He and Qibi would exercise independent control of the 6,000 Shatuo and Tuyuhun troops in the operation, and would be required to accept Ormizt's commands only in an emergency. The only troops under direct command of Ormizt would be, as before, his Uyghurs and Tanguts.

[Yun]

In November 842, a Khirgiz envoy had also arrived at the Tang court for the first time. The Khirgiz were apparently concerned about whether Princess Taihe had returned to the Tang court, since they had received no word from the escort convoy that they had sent south with the princess in 840. Suspecting correctly that the Uyghurs had waylaid the convoy, they had now sent 400, 000 troops out to search for the princess as far as the territory of the Tibetans. At least, this is what Li Deyu told Oga Kaghan in a letter dated to December 842 or January 843, the Tang court's last known communication with Oga. This letter may have been carried to the Uyghur camp by Cai Xi on his second and last trip to that camp.

Li Deyu's purpose was to threaten and warn the Uyghurs about the imminent wrath of the Khirgiz, and persuade them to return the princess and then hide themselves to escape the Khirgiz attack. But the court clearly had little confidence that this would work, as it continued at the same time to prepare for war against Oga Kaghan. On 23 November 842, Li Deyu persuaded the emperor to issue a decree allowing Liu Mian to act on his own initiative rather than wait for orders from the court. It was probably this decree that encouraged Liu to despatch Cai Xi on his two secret missions to trick the Uyghurs into approaching the Hedong border.

Although Liu Mian had to wait until spring to launch his assault, Zhenwu military governor Li Zhongsun volunteered to go with Ormizt Tigin to spy on the Uyghur camp. This was approved on 13 January 843. On 30 January, the emperor approved another proposal by Li Deyu for Ormizt to be allowed to advance closer to Oga's camp, up to the Baoda Palisade. Some time after that, Li Zhongsun and Ormizt engaged Oga's troops in a skirmish and defeated them. This, however, was just a small prelude to the actual assault by Shi Xiong's vanguard, which took place at Zhenwu around 13 February.