Chapter 71: Revival (III)

Zhang Yanji’s Adam’s apple moved slightly as he swallowed hard and staggered over to Li Kuo’s side.
“Brother Kuo, it’s corpses! The river is full of them!”
Probably due to extreme nervousness, his speech was slurred and unclear. Seeing his pale face, Li Kuo realized it wasn’t a joke and frowned as he headed toward the riverbank. Upon approaching and witnessing the horror in the Talas River, even the usually resolute Li Kuo couldn’t help but shut his eyes tightly.
If it weren’t for the Mingguang armor of the Tang Dynasty on the floating corpses, Li Kuo would have refused to believe what he saw. Had the Battle of Talas truly ended? So many corpses had piled up downstream—could it be that General Gao and the others had already been killed…
“Brother Kuo, what should we do now? If the battle is over, continuing along the Talas River is just asking for death, right?”
Zhang Yanji pinched his thigh hard to calm himself. The more chaotic the situation, the less he could afford to panic. The circumstances ahead were unclear, and a decision had to be made quickly.
Noticing everyone’s gaze on him, Li Kuo pondered for a moment before waving his hand. “Keep moving forward!”
This decision was quite unexpected, shocking everyone present.
Zhang Yanji had assumed Li Kuo would suggest turning back, but to his surprise, after much hesitation, he still decided to move forward. If he had been an optimist before seeing the horror in the Talas River, now he only wanted to escape this terrifying place as soon as possible. Those Arabs were nothing but beasts—looking at his comrades’ tragic deaths, their mutilated bodies…
“Brother Kuo, if we really have to keep going? General Gao and the others are probably already…”
Zhang Yanji gritted his teeth and finally spoke up, trying to persuade Li Kuo. It wasn’t that he was afraid of death; he just didn’t want his comrades to die senselessly. The corpses in the Talas River spoke for themselves—the Anxi army had been defeated, a crushing defeat with no doubt!
Over 30,000 troops sent to Talas had been utterly defeated by the Arabs. What advantage could these 5,000 men gain even if they reached the city of Talas?
“Even if General Gao and the others have been defeated, we must keep moving forward!”
Li Kuo took a deep breath and said, “If General Gao leads the defeated troops eastward in a breakout attempt, we can meet them head-on. That way, returning to Anxi together will be much safer. If General Gao is unfortunately killed, at least we can gather the scattered troops and minimize the losses from this western expedition.”

Seeing Zhang Yanji still looking gloomy, Li Kuo sighed and said, “Our mission this time to Talas is not meant to engage the Arabs in a fierce battle. If we encounter small scouting parties, we just need to wipe them out completely. If, unfortunately, we run into the main force of the Arabs, we can simply avoid them. What’s most important now is to figure out the true situation of this battle, so as to give everyone an explanation.”

His words made sense; regardless of whether they won or lost, everyone urgently needed a resolution. If they won, it would be a joyous occasion, but if they lost, they would need to consider to what extent the army had been defeated and how to defend the four garrisons in Anxi after the battle.

“Alright, but Brother Kuo, you must promise that no matter what happens, don’t let anger take over and fight to the death against the Arabs!”

Seeing that Li Kuo had made up his mind, Zhang Yanji knew it was pointless to argue further and settled for asking him to give an assurance to calm the troops’ fears.

“Fine, I promise you,” Li Kuo said with a helpless wave of his hand and a wry smile.

“Heh, then I’ll risk my life to accompany you. After all, it was you who saved my life. Wherever you go, I’ll follow!”

“Good brother!” Li Kuo exhaled in relief and shook hands with Zhang Xiaolangjun as an oath。……

As they moved forward along the Talas River valley, the more westward they went, the more desolate the scene in the river became. By noon, the scorching sun could strip the skin off a living person. The corpses in the river had been floating for days, and after being exposed to the sun, some had already rotted and emitted a foul stench.

Occasionally, flocks of vultures would circle over the valley, enjoying this abundant feast. They came in large groups, often covering half of the sky. At such times, the generals of the Copper Weapons Camp would be on high alert, ready to stop soldiers from losing control and rushing into the valley to drive away the vultures.

As part of the Anxi army, they couldn’t bear to see these birds desecrate their comrades’ corpses, but since they were on a military campaign, any action that hindered progress had to be stopped. To ensure more of their comrades survived, they had to keep moving forward—they couldn’t stop.

Whenever this happened, some would complain in low voices about why they didn’t take a detour through the dense forests on the north side. Although it would add distance to their journey, at least they wouldn’t have to witness the horrors in the Talas River, which would ease their minds somewhat.

But Li Kuo insisted on marching along the Tarim River. There were two reasons for this. First, of course, to save time—every bit of time saved could help rescue more comrades, and they wouldn’t give up until the last moment. Second, it increased the chances of encountering the Anxi army! After all, there was only one river, the Tarim River, flowing through the area, and defeated troops often abandoned their armor and supplies in panic, throwing away water skins and rations to save their lives. This made water a critical issue.

Defeated soldiers were still human, and they needed water too! Under such circumstances, marching along the Tarim River became the only option.

Of course, if he could think of such a plan, the Arabs could surely do the same. Choosing this route meant taking greater risks. In fact, ever since the Tianwei army saw the tragic scene in the valley downstream of the Tarim River, the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere in the army vanished. Although the soldiers didn’t say anything, it was obvious that everyone was much more nervous. Normally, Li Kuo should have stepped in to lighten the mood, but he didn’t.

Faced with unknown challenges ahead, even Li Kuo couldn’t guarantee a safe escape. He needed every soldier to be as vigilant as he was, ready to react properly in times of danger!

“Commander, commander! Hundreds of Anxi cavalry have been spotted ahead, and it seems the Arabs are chasing us from behind!”

A scout rode around a mound in front and rushed to report to Li Kuo before even dismounting.

Li Kuo instinctively reached for the sword at his waist and asked, “How many Arabs are there? Are you sure those Anxi cavalry are our own?”

The exhausted scout gasped for breath, “I didn’t dare get too close. I couldn’t see clearly, but I estimate there are about a thousand Arabs, all cavalry!”

After a brief pause, the scout added, “Those Anxi cavalry should be our own. I saw a broken Tang army flag on one of the standard-bearers!”

“Hmm, go and rest for now.”

Li Kuo waved his hand at him. This news was good news—at least it proved that the Tang army in Anxi hadn’t been completely defeated. After thinking for a moment, Li Kuo ordered his subordinates, “Dou Qing, Li Sheng, listen up!”

“Your servant!” they replied in unison, bowing.

“I order you both to lead five hundred soldiers to hide in the bushes ahead and wait for my command to launch an ambush!”

“Understood!”

Li Kuo nodded and asked, “Where is Pu Da Chui?”

“Commander, your subordinate is here!”
Pu Dachui had long harbored resentment, and now that he had a chance to vent it, he wished he could devour those damned Arab invaders alive.
“I order you to lead a thousand infantrymen to circle behind the small pass and cut off the Arabs’ retreat!”
“Hehe, leave it to old Pu. I guarantee I won’t let a single barbarian escape!”
Li Kuo paused for a moment before saying, “Yanji and Wucui, you two take a thousand cavalrymen to cut some bushes for branches. Make sure to prepare over a dozen tripwires within a moment!”
“Uh-huh, don’t worry, Brother Kuo!”
Zhang Yanji nodded and patted his chest in response. There was already rope available in the army, and branches from the bushes could be easily obtained. It wouldn’t be difficult to make over a dozen tripwires in fifteen minutes.
“The rest of you stay with me, ready to follow orders at any time!”
Li Kuo waved his hand, signaling everyone to return to their positions. According to the scouts, the Arab cavalry chasing the defeated troops from Anxi wasn’t very large—merely a small force. With five thousand cavalrymen of his own, defeating them was a piece of cake. But the most important thing now was to rescue as many of his comrades as possible. If those Arab cavalry returned to Talas and reported back, the location of his five thousand secret troops would be exposed. That would be a disaster for both him and the defeated troops from Anxi.
So, it was better not to fight those Arab cavalry at all. If they did fight, they had to be wiped out completely, none left behind!
Li Kuo stared at the dust rising in the distance and sighed deeply.
He only hoped they hadn’t arrived too late, that it wasn’t too late to do anything!……