Chapter 30: Dismounting (3)

Although confident in his own loyal troops, Gao Xianzhi still hoped to defeat the Arab forces one by one. He was not arrogant and would not sacrifice the best opportunity for a decisive battle for mere prestige.
For the Tang forces in Anxi at the moment, the best strategy was to seize Talas at all costs. If Samarkand was the core of the Arabs’ power in Transoxiana, Talas was their granary.
There was still some time before the autumn harvest. If they could take Talas, he would have enough time to order his men to set fire to the fields outside the city!
By then, the situation would completely reverse. The Arabs’ supply advantage would vanish, and Gao Xianzhi, backed by a large granary, could easily engage Abu Muslim in a war of attrition!
Of course, as an important city, Talas would be well-defended. Although he brought many siege weapons, it might not be possible to capture it in just a few days. But in any case, it was time to take a gamble. Winning this battle would mean winning more than half the fight; if he lost, he could simply regroup and fight Abu Muslim another day!
“Respected governor, the God of Fire has endowed you with wisdom and intelligence, but have you considered some unexpected factors?”
Ashilanda swallowed hard, struggling to rise from his fatigued seat. He bowed to Gao Xianzhi and said, “Abu Muslim might launch a sudden attack. If that happens, our army is already exhausted and now faces a strong enemy—we’re in great danger!”
Ashilanda bowed slightly and analyzed calmly, “How about this? I’ll lead my troops to camp ten miles outside the city. First, if Arab reinforcements arrive from Samarkand, I can send light cavalry to inform you promptly. Second, I can also hold off Abu Muslim temporarily, buying you more time to organize your forces!”
Seeing that he could no longer influence Gao Xianzhi’s decision, Ashilanda had to change his strategy and strive to secure benefits for his warriors as much as possible.
Gao Xianzhi, an experienced politician, easily saw through his intentions. He simply waved his hand and said, “As for that, the king of Buhara needn’t worry. Reconnaissance and surveillance will be handled by the scout team. The king only needs to lead his brave warriors and join my Anxi forces in attacking the city!”
“Hiss!”

Ashilanda gasped. He had intended to secure an easy task for himself, only to end up being used as a human shield by Gao Xianzhi. But at this moment, he couldn’t say anything—after all, Gao Xianzhi was the real commander of the allied forces, and this great battle had started because of him. If he voiced his opposition now, Gao Xianzhi might immediately turn against him.

“Hmm!”

After struggling to swallow his saliva, Ashilanda finally nodded. “But in that case, Murata Oliehu and his people will have nothing to do for a while. I hope the supreme commander won’t treat them unfairly.”

He emphasized those words, clearly dissatisfied with Gao Xianzhi’s differential treatment. If it were his own people or the core troops of the Anxi Army being treated differently, he could accept it. But it was the Göktürks who were being favored.

Why should they, the Göktürks, stay idle while his own people had to risk their lives in fierce battles to capture cities?

There was no such logic in the world!

“Of course, I have tasks to assign to Murata Oliehu!” Gao Xianzhi pointed at the map on the desk and smiled. “If we send a cavalry unit to this place, do you think Abu Muslim will go to rescue Talas first or to ‘put out the fire’ there?”

A strange, cold smile appeared on Gao Xianzhi’s face as he gazed solemnly at the misty mountains to the west.……

Inside Talas City, Governor Said bin Humaid stared silently at a secret letter delivered by the Turkic general Sanchen Naoer. After a long while, he forced a smile and said to Sanchen Naoer, “Brave man, you say it’s been over a month since Moqizitak wrote this letter?”

Ever since Sanchen Naoer arrived in Talas City, the governor had found various excuses to refuse to meet him. It wasn’t until today, when he ran into Sanchen Naoer who had been waiting outside the governor’s residence for a long time, that he was forced to invite this uninvited guest in and ask what he wanted.

Clearly, Shuye City was in trouble, and this trouble was definitely related to the Anxi Tang Army’s massive attack on Talas!

Gao Xianzhi was afraid—he feared losing everything, even leaving no trace of himself! He was trying to save himself a backdoor!

Although Sanchen Naoer knew full well that Said bin Humaid was deliberately making things difficult for him, he had no choice but to lower his pride and say humbly, “Indeed. My master Tak wrote this letter a month ago. I was delayed on the road!”

Although he wanted to tear the other party apart alive, thinking that this Arab army was the only hope to rescue Puliye City, Sangchennaor had no choice but to take all the blame on himself. It was all for Moqi Zhitak, it was all for the Turks! He had to endure, he had to endure!

“Oh? Then I guess we don’t need to send reinforcements either. By this rate, Puliye City must already be in the hands of the Tang people!”

Said bin Humaid raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said softly.

“What? What did you say?”

Sangchennaor’s long-suppressed anger finally erupted. He stepped forward, grabbed the governor of Talas by the collar, and shouted fiercely, “How could Puliye City be captured so easily? The city has enough food to feed everyone for half a year, and there are over five thousand armored soldiers inside!”

“May Allah’s blessings be upon you!”

Said bin Humaid glared at Sangchennaor fiercely, pushed aside the angry man, and said, “The more angry we are, the more we must recite Allah’s teachings in our hearts!”

“May Allah’s blessings be upon you too!”

Sangchennaor waved his hand in frustration and said, “I lost my temper just now.”

“Although Puliye City has ample food, what if a fire is set there? The soldiers there are brave, but what if there are traitors among them? Do you think the Tang people want Puliye City just to secure a fallback route for themselves? If I’m not mistaken, the Anxi Allied Forces must already be outside Talas City!”

Said bin Humaid snorted coldly, “Do you think Gao Xianzhi is a fool? Using two strategies at once, Puliye City is just a decoy! If I had listened to you and sent troops to rescue Puliye, Talas City would likely already have the Tang flag flying over it!”

“But, but if that’s the case, my family’s Zhitak…”

Sangchennaor couldn’t believe the Tang people could be so cunning. He was stunned and didn’t know what to do.

“Don’t worry! Given Moqi Zhitak’s character, even if he’s left alone, he won’t give up hope!”

Said bin Humaid glanced at Sangchennaor and said, “Our top priority now is to defend Talas City and wait for Governor Abu Muslim to arrive from Samarkand with reinforcements! By then, I’ll lead an army out to fight the Tang forces head-on. Under attack from both sides, the Tang people are bound to suffer a crushing defeat. Then we can pursue them and reclaim Puliye City for Moqi Zhitak in one fell swoop!”

Although Said bin Humaid’s analysis made sense, Sangchennaor still couldn’t shake his concerns: “But what if Zhitak is captured by the Tang people…”

“That is his fate!”
Said ibn Khumaid could no longer tolerate beating around the bush with Sanche Nor, and he snorted coldly, “Currently, Governor Abu Muslim commands forty thousand jihadists from Khorasan to defend Samarkand; General Ziyad ibn Sarri controls nearly a hundred thousand troops from various Khaganates in the regions of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers. Our total forces are now approaching two hundred thousand, giving us an absolute advantage! What impact can a mere army of less than thirty thousand from the Tang of Anxi possibly have?”
After a brief pause, Said ibn Khumaid continued, “Our Abbasid dynasty originated in Khorasan, and the quality of its cavalry ranks among the highest in the Islamic Empire! The wise and mighty Caliph has also sent General Abu Muslim to command the battles in Transoxiana—surely he will wipe out the Tang forces in one fell swoop and avenge your family’s grievance!”