Chapter 69: Survival from Death (I)

Those who survive through fierce battles and perish without them are in a deathly situation. Only by showing them that survival is impossible can one place them in such a situation and enable them to thrive.

Gao Xianzhi glanced back at the plumes of black smoke on the other side of the Talas River, feeling a deep sigh in his heart. The battle of Talas, which he had prepared for months, had ended without the slightest sign. Countless comrades who had traveled with him in search of glory had died unjustly, and many officers above the rank of lieutenant in the Anxi Army left not even a complete corpse. If he hadn’t followed Xin Zhixu’s advice yesterday, perhaps he too would now be reduced to ashes.

He began to doubt whether his decision to lead an assault over seven hundred miles was correct. Initially, he had aimed for a quick victory to avoid unnecessary complications. But now it seemed that the Arabs had far greater control over the region around the river than he did, and the rulers of those barbarian states preferred to ally with the Arabs rather than the Tang Dynasty. Thus, from the moment he crossed the Pamir Mountains, his failure was inevitable! He lost to the Tang Dynasty’s policy of indirect rule over those states, and he lost due to the shortages of supplies in a long-distance campaign.

It turned out he had lost from the very beginning. Haha, haha—life is truly but a dream. Upon waking from the dream, he found that everything he had strived for had vanished like smoke.

“Commander Gao, we’d better leave now. This place isn’t safe for us to stay long.”

Li Siyeh, worried that Gao Xianzhi still couldn’t let go of this battle, gently reminded him. His concern wasn’t unfounded. In fact, last night, as Commander Gao crossed the Talas River amid the raging fires, they were intercepted by Arab cavalry. The Arab general, named Usumish, led a thousand cavalrymen to block the only shallow bay downstream of the river. When Commander Gao and his men crossed the river, they were attacked suddenly!

Although Commander Gao’s forces were comparable to theirs, the suddenness of the attack and the advantage of the enemy’s cavalry caught him off guard. If it weren’t for his timely arrival after hearing Xin Zhixu’s report, Commander Gao would have been in great danger!

In a fit of anger, he led his troops to rout those Arab cavalrymen, but there were always those who escaped. If someone hid among the corpses in the darkness, pretended to be dead, and crossed the river at dawn to report back, it would be a serious problem.

If it were an ordinary general who escaped, it might not matter much in Abu Muslim’s eyes. But if it were Gao Xianzhi, the governor of Anxi and the highest commander of the Tang army, Abu Muslim would surely send cavalry across the river to pursue him immediately.

He couldn’t let General Gao take such a risk. What needed to be done now was to return to Anxi as quickly as possible to make some preparations! The Arabs had narrowly won the Battle of Talas, so they likely wouldn’t launch a full-scale attack on the four towns of Anxi right away. But they had long coveted Anxi, and after making some adjustments, they would surely march on it again. By then, if General Gao wasn’t prepared, what would be lost would be far more than just the lands of Hezhong.

“Siyue, do you hate me? Haha, I’m such a useless person—abandoning you and Xiushi to swim across at night by myself. Haha, I’m just a coward, a coward!”

Gao Xianzhi gazed at the chaotic battlefield on the other shore and sighed deeply.

“General Gao, why say such things? On the battlefield, life and death are in the hands of fate. If you had a chance to escape, you should take it first. If you insist on so-called loyalty at all costs, it will only harm your comrades!”

In fact, Li Siyue did feel a bit dissatisfied with Gao Xianzhi. But that was because of his anger after their army’s crushing defeat. Now, he realized that General Gao’s decision was indeed correct. A commander is the backbone of an army, and when faced with having to choose between two options, the safety of the army’s leader should be prioritized.

There was really no need for General Gao to dwell on this issue, especially since the entire Hezhong region was now under Arab control. These barbarian tribes had been invaded by the Muslims, and it was possible that some of their military leaders might see their forces and reveal their location to Abu Muslim in exchange for rewards. After all, their combat strength was now much weaker—just a force of 5,000 light cavalry could defeat them.

Speaking of Duan Xiushi, Li Siyue also felt a pang of pain. Looking back, Old Duan had taken on an impossible task. The tactic of using the defeated barbarian troops from Hezhong to attack the Arabs’ central army seemed flawless on paper, but in reality, it was full of flaws!

After all, Abu Muslim had led troops for a long time—he surely wouldn’t lack basic common sense. Even if he needed to divide his forces to attack the Anxi army’s central unit, with the Arabs’ numerical advantage, he could still spare tens of thousands of soldiers to defend the center.

In fact, as long as 10,000 heavily armored infantry were stationed on the sides of the central unit as a barrier, the tactic of “rolling back the curtain” could never succeed! After all, those barbarians turned toward the Arabs’ central army out of fear of dying in battle. And if they weren’t met with friendly reinforcements but rows of silver long spears, they would definitely turn back and attack Duan Xiushi’s cavalry.

Indeed, that was the case. Abu Muslim had a contingency plan—he used his heavily armored infantry to disperse and drive back the defeated enemy forces, which in turn dealt a severe blow to Duan Xiushi.
“Ah, don’t worry too much about Old Duan. He’s like an old cat with nine lives. Our Anxi army’s cavalry is renowned for its ability to launch swift attacks. The valleys along the Talas River are flat open lands—he can just run away like a duck; how could the Arabs catch up to him?”
Though he said this to be comforting, it didn’t have the desired effect. Gao Xianzhi was briefly stunned before sighing, “Alright, it’s my fault this time. If he blames me, I have nothing to say. Siyeh, let’s go!”
Gao Xianzhi turned slowly and shakily walked toward his horse. Whether from exhaustion or unease, he slipped off the horse’s back, causing everyone to exclaim in shock.
“General Gao, take care! The lives and property of the people in Anxi depend on you!”
Xin Zhixu hurriedly helped his commander up. No matter what others thought, in his eyes, he was the greatest and most outstanding general of the Tang Dynasty, without a doubt!
“The people of Anxi… heh…”
Gao Xianzhi seemed struck again, shaking his head as he murmured, “His strength could move mountains, his spirit surpassed the world. But times were not favorable, and his horse wouldn’t move. What could he do? Yu, oh Yu, what shall I do? Yu, oh Yu, what shall I do?”
After a long silence, Gao Xianzhi sighed, “Previously, whenever I read Sima Qian’s ‘Biography of Xiang Yu’ in the Records of the Grand Historian, I would always lament the fate of the King of Western Chu. Do you know why? Partly out of pity for his misfortune, and partly out of anger at his lack of perseverance. Such a heroic man was defeated by one setback and ended up killing himself by the Wu River—how could he still talk about building an empire? Moreover, he even found an excuse to avoid facing the people of Jiangdong again. At that time, I thought the King of Chu was nothing but a hypocrite seeking fame. It was a blessing for the people that he had no kingdom.”
After a pause, Gao Xianzhi bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it forcefully into the Talas River.
“It’s only today that I truly understand the feelings of the King of Western Chu. Times were not favorable, and his horse wouldn’t move. What could he do? He was so close to achieving greatness, but one careless mistake cost him everything! Ah, he indeed had no face to face the people of Jiangdong again. Hundreds of thousands of brave men followed him to fight for the world, only to end up without even a shroud to cover their bodies—how could he have any face left…”

Gao Xianzhi simply spread his legs and sat on the ground. Such an action was extremely improper for a general of his rank, but at that moment, Gao Xianzhi couldn’t care less about such things.
“At first, I dismissed him as cowardly, but it turned out I was the real coward. The Overlord of Western Chu at least had the courage to commit suicide by the Wu River to atone for his sins, while I abandoned my comrades on the other side and fled across the river in the dead of night with my remaining troops!”
Gao Xianzhi’s words came from the bottom of his heart, moving many of the soldiers to tears.
“General Gao, please don’t say that. Our comrades have never blamed you. Since the army clashed with the Arabs, when have we ever suffered a clear defeat? It’s only because the Göktürks turned traitor at the last moment! If not for that, perhaps we would be celebrating in Talas City by now!”
Xin Zhixu, unable to bear to see Gao Xianzhi blame himself so much, comforted him from the side.
Li Siyeh also said, “That’s right. If we must blame someone, it’s those Göktürks. I’ve long seen that they were rebellious, but you just wouldn’t believe them. And now, as soon as they changed sides, they turned their swords against us!”
Only then did he realize he had caused trouble. He sighed at Gao Xianzhi and fell silent.
“It’s not their fault. It’s my fault for trusting people too much. In fact, even if the Göktürks hadn’t turned to the Arabs, defeat was only a matter of time.”
Gao Xianzhi waved his hand and said, “I’m thinking now that if I hadn’t razed cities in the Shi region, perhaps these barbarian tribes wouldn’t harbor such hatred toward my Anxi Army. Maybe at least half of the rulers would have sided with us. Ultimately, it’s because I was too arrogant and looked down on others. I thought I could conquer the region alone and resist the Arabs. But I was wrong. Any individual’s strength is limited; only those who know how to mobilize and utilize surrounding forces are true strongmen. He who follows the right path gains many allies, while he who goes astray has few. The ancients were truly wise!”
“Enough, enough. Let this cup of wine be my apology to all of you, my comrades!”
Gao Xianzhi suddenly knelt on the ground and bowed three times facing the Talas River. After finishing the ritual, he carefully took out a wine pouch from his bosom, bit open the wooden stopper with his teeth, and poured a pot of turbid wine into the Talas River, which was already completely red from blood.