Chapter 39: The Wasteland (IV)

Upon hearing this, Gao Xianzhi’s face turned ashen instantly!
How could it be? How possible? According to his calculations, even if the light cavalry rushed all night long, Abu Muslim would not arrive at the Talas River until dawn. How could it be so fast?
“Moula Eluo, Moula Eluo! Didn’t I order him to lead the tribal cavalry to guard the Talas River? Why didn’t he stop the Arab cavalry from crossing the river?”
Gao Xianzhi was on the verge of collapse. He suddenly grabbed the scout by the collar and shook him violently.
“General Gao, uh, General Gao…”
The scout, who had already been exhausted from rushing to Talas City to deliver the message, was now completely shaken by Gao Xianzhi’s treatment.
“General Gao, please let him go. Let him explain slowly!”
Duan Xiushi sighed inwardly and hurriedly interceded, “Please let him finish speaking before making a decision!”
“Hmph!”
Gao Xianzhi was stunned for a moment before tossing the scout aside.
“Speak! What happened?”
“General Gao, General Gao…”
The scout, filled with grievance, rubbed his swollen waist and choked out, “Moula Eluo said the Arabs were unstoppable. They fought back twice but still couldn’t hold them off.”
“Nonsense!”
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Gao Xianzhi cursed loudly. “I didn’t order him to fight to the death against those Arabs. I just wanted him to buy us half a day—just half a day! With five thousand elite cavalry guarding the Talas River, can’t he even hold out for half a day? Idiots! A bunch of idiots!”
Gao Xianzhi’s lips trembled violently, and his body shook with rage.
“General Gao, now is not the time for despair. Please make a decision quickly!”
Seeing the situation was extremely critical, Duan Xiushi knelt down and pleaded with Gao Xianzhi.
“Enough, enough.”
Gao Xianzhi was like a rooster drained of blood, utterly devoid of fighting spirit. “What decision is there to make? Pass my order—withdraw the entire army and head back to Shenhaizi!”
If he had had a choice before, now he no longer even had the chance to make such a difficult decision. Abu Muslim had already led his cavalry across the river. If he didn’t reorganize his troops and leave now, when Abu Muslim’s forces arrived and joined those inside the city, he feared his entire army would be annihilated under siege from both sides.
“General Gao orders the army to withdraw!”
“Did you hear? General Gao orders the army to withdraw!”
Duan Xiushi had been waiting for this order. Hearing it, he was overjoyed and repeated it over and over to the messengers around him.

“Ah, ah.” Realizing the urgency of the situation, the messenger didn’t argue with Duan Xiushi and quickly mounted his horse to deliver the message.
“Woo!”
“Woo-woo—woo-woo-woo—woo-woo!”
The trumpeters of the Tang Dynasty were not playing a tune of victory, but rather a mournful melody signaling retreat. Its sorrowful sound made everyone who heard it sigh with regret.
In July of the tenth year of the Tianbao era, Gao Xianzhi failed to capture Talas after a long siege, so he led his troops back to Shenhaizi to regroup and prepare for another battle!…
Shenhaizi, not far from Talas, was filled with the Tang troops from Anxi. Since the failed night attack on Talas, they had regrouped under the leadership of their commander, Gao Xianzhi. To his surprise, the casualties among the Tang troops and the Buhun forces far exceeded his expectations. Excluding those who died in battle, nearly eight thousand soldiers were injured. This was an astonishing figure—after all, the combined forces of Tang and Buhun numbered only thirty thousand, yet eight thousand of them were wounded!
Most of these injuries came from being struck by arrows while scaling the siege ladders. Although the wounds weren’t fatal, they still represented a significant blow to the Tang army.
Though Shenhaizi was hidden, accommodating so many soldiers would eventually attract the attention of the Arabs. By then, the Tang army would surely have to fight against the Arab main forces. No commander would want to engage in battle with a camp full of wounded soldiers against the elite Arab cavalry.
Even if the Arabs didn’t discover the Tang army’s location, Gao Xianzhi would seek them out after regrouping to confront their main forces in a decisive battle. The defeat at Talas was utterly humiliating—not only for him, Gao Xianzhi, but also for the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
As a high-ranking official, to be defeated by such a minor force as the Arabs would be a disgrace. If word got out, where would Gao Xianzhi’s reputation stand? And what about the Emperor’s?
So he not only wanted to fight but also engage in a decisive battle against the Arabs. He intended to personally command the Tang cavalry in a final showdown against the elite Khurasan cavalry led by Abu Muslim!
The winner would reign, the loser would be defeated. He refused to believe that his lifelong reputation would be ruined by this small city of Talas!
“Commander Gao, Commander Gao! Murala Oluehu requests an audience!”
Duan Xiushi ran over to Gao Xianzhi and whispered in his ear.
Upon hearing that name, Gao Xianzhi almost swung his sword at him. But after some time, he no longer harbored such hatred toward Murala Oluehu—or rather, he needed him to help plan the upcoming decisive battle.

He had long known that the Göktürks, as mercenaries, would not fight to the death for him, which was why he sent Murao Eluo to the Tianshan River to hold back Abu Muslim’s cavalry. Who would have thought this guy would be so useless, unable to hold them off even for half a day? It was infuriating that he still had to rely on this old fox now!

Swinging his fist in vain, Gao Xianzhi sneered and said, “Call him in.”

“General Gao, you…”

Duan Xiushi, fearing Gao Xianzhi might do something extreme, cautiouslyprobinged him from the side.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing!” Gao Xianzhi waved his hand and shook his head with a wry smile.

“Yes!” Duan Xiushi obeyed and left, lifting the curtain to exit the tent.

Before long, the Göktürk leader Ye Hu Murao Eluo entered the tent under Duan Xiushi’s guidance.

The mighty Ye Hu was filled with sorrow upon seeing Gao Xianzhi. He rushed over in a few steps, knelt down, and clung tightly to Gao Xianzhi’s thighs, crying, “General Gao, Murao Eluo has failed to live up to your trust. It’s a capital offense. Please punish me!”

Gao Xianzhi found his behavior amusing. With a cold snort, he began to examine Murao Eluo closely.

It would have been fine if he hadn’t looked. But upon seeing him, Gao Xianzhi almost burst out laughing.

It turned out that Murao Eluo’s forehead was wrapped in layers of white cloth, with chicken blood—unknown where it came from—spattered all over it!

That wasn’t even the worst part. The mighty Göktürk leader Ye Hu was kneeling before him with his chest and back exposed, carrying a thorny branch.

After all, Murao Eluo was of age—how could he be so lacking in backbone?

Still, he had cleverly adopted the tradition of carrying thorns as an act of penance, providing some entertainment!

He knew Gao Xianzhi wouldn’t dare execute him—this old fox!

Gao Xianzhi sighed inwardly but pretended to help Murao Eluo up, saying, “Ye Hu, why say such things? You helped our Tang army resist the Arab reinforcements, though you were overwhelmed. What crime is that?”

Murao Eluo stood up trembling and continued, “General Gao, you don’t know the full situation. All the Arab reinforcements were cavalry. I roughly estimated there were nearly a hundred thousand of them. They came to the Tianshan River with great momentum, ready to cross. How could I ignore your trust? Although our Göktürk warriors numbered only five thousand, we fought with all our might. I led my men in a surprise attack as the Arabs crossed the river!”

After a pause, Murao Eluo glanced at Gao Xianzhi’s expression. Seeing no reaction, he reluctantly continued, “The Arabs were shocked and hastily prepared to fight under their commander’s leadership.”

“My Göktürk warriors are all skilled fighters, and at the start of the battle, we had a great advantage. Unfortunately, the Abbasid cavalry was far too numerous. Once they settled down, they launched a counterattack, and our warriors gradually ran out of strength…”
Moula Eluo sighed, “At that time, I only wanted to fight to the death against the Abbasids to repay the kindness shown to me by Tianke Khan and General Gao. But I heard a saying among the people of the Central Plains: ‘As long as the green mountains remain, there will always be firewood.’ So I gave up the idea of dying. I thought that if I withdrew in time and joined forces with General Gao, we could surely defeat the Abbasid cavalry and avenge our grievances.”
“Moula Eluo is truly a heroic man!”
After Moula Eluo finished speaking, Gao Xianzhi clapped his hands in approval several times. “Ye Hu did the right thing. Our army is already smaller in number than the Abbasids; there’s no need to lose soldiers because of momentary bravery.”
“After this battle, Moula Eluo and Ye Hu need to rest well. In a few days, we’ll fight another decisive battle against the Abbasids, forcing them to pay with their blood!”
Gao Xianzhi stepped forward and patted Moula Eluo’s shoulder to encourage him.
“General Gao, your heart is truly as broad as the Eternal Sky!”
Moula Eluo placed one arm along his side and bowed.
“Hmm, Xiu Shi, take Moula Eluo back to the camp to rest!”
Gao Xianzhi smiled slightly and nodded at Duan Xiu Shi.
“Please, Ye Hu!”
“Please, General Duan!”
After exchanging respectful gestures, Moula Eluo left Gao Xianzhi’s camp, quite pleased with himself.
Not long after sending Moula Eluo away, Duan Xiu Shi returned.
“General Gao, do you really intend to rely on this Moula Eluo? In my opinion, he’s not trustworthy.”
“For now, we have no choice but to take things one step at a time.”
Gao Xianzhi sighed deeply, pulled out an envelope from his sleeve, and handed it to Duan Xiu Shi. “Xiu Shi, quickly have a trusted man deliver this letter to Suiye and hand it personally to Li Kuo, the governor of Shule.”
“What do you mean by this, General Gao?”
“Don’t ask. Just deliver it to him in person. He’ll understand once he reads it!”