Chapter 78: Ten Thousand Miles (6)

Today, Li Kuo got up extremely early. At the insistent invitation of the King of Julan, he ended up spending the night in the palace. Though the young man could handle alcohol fairly well, he had clearly drunk too much the previous night, and upon waking early that day, he felt his head throbbing. After a quick wash, Li Kuo woke up Zhang Yanji, Zhou Wucui, and the others who were also staying in the side chambers. These guys had drunk even more than him; they arrived at the palace’s side chambers already drowsy and fell asleep as soon as they lay down, without even taking off their clothes. Fortunately, the over a hundred soldiers he brought from the Tongwu Camp were stationed outside the side chambers. Otherwise, with their deep sleep, if Li Huaizhong had malicious intentions, they might all have been caught off guard!
“Brother Kuo, why did you get up so early? What time is it even? Let me go back and sleep a bit more.”
Zhang Yanji yawned as he got up and walked toward the washbasin and mirror, only to feel drowsiness hit him again. He closed his eyes heavily and headed for the wooden bed, but Li Kuo pulled him back and said, “Go outside and check what time it is. How dare you even ask! I don’t know who said we’d get up early last night, but in the end, you were the last to get up.”
Li Kuo shook his head helplessly. “We have important matters to handle today. You know that. What can I say about your state?”
“Ah, Brother Kuo, I was just joking. Don’t be angry, please.”
Zhang Yanji quickly assured him, “I’m coming right away.”
After saying that, he hurried to the washbasin, checked himself in the mirror, and soon returned to Li Kuo.
“Hehe, now we can go!”
“Sigh, there’s really nothing you can do.”
Li Kuo affectionately tapped Zhang Yanji’s nose and said, “What are you waiting for? Let’s go!”
With the King of Julan, Li Huaizhong’s permission, Li Kuo and his group could enter and exit the palace freely. So after leaving the side chambers, they quickly left through a side door. Julan City wasn’t large, and it took them about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to reach the military camp in the western part of the city. After gathering five hundred men, they left the city in a grand procession. Li Kuo didn’t bring too many cavalrymen—firstly, it would draw too much attention and arouse Li Huaizhong’s suspicion; secondly, they didn’t need many troops for this mission, and bringing out all the Tianwei Army soldiers would be a waste.

In fact, what Li Kuo needed to do today was set up a shelter for scattered deserters three li outside Julan City. He had long heard that after the Battle of Talas, many scattered deserters had fled from the west. These soldiers often traveled in groups of three or five. Since they couldn’t form a cohesive force, even ordinary bandits and thieves dared to target them. Eventually, these Tang soldiers would even have their armor and weapons stripped from them. In their current state, they naturally didn’t dare enter the city, so the path three li away became their only route back to the four garrisons in Anxi.

Li Kuo’s main purpose for coming to Julan City was to assist the Tang deserters led by General Gao, helping them overcome the crisis and return to Anxi. But he simply couldn’t stand by and watch his former comrades suffer humiliation at the hands of the barbarians.

That’s why he brought five hundred men here to gather the passing deserters, so they could return to the four garrisons together with the main Anxi army.

As for welcoming General Gao, of course that couldn’t be forgotten. In fact, the young master had already sent Li Sheng with a thousand cavalry to wait outside Julan City. Once news of the Anxi army’s return arrived, he could return to Julan City immediately.

After about an hour of hard work, they finally set up the camps. Zhang Yanji yawned and said, “Brother Kuo, how could anyone come at this early hour? These deserters are most afraid of being seen by the enemy, so they usually rest during the day and travel at night. We got up so early—this chase is probably a waste of time.”

“Ordinary people, nothing but ordinary people!” Zhou Wucui shook his head and said, “The thinking patterns of ordinary people and geniuses are indeed different. Well, it’s not really your fault.”

Zhou Wucui puffed out his cheeks and said, “Do you know why they choose to travel at night? That’s because it’s usually in the wilderness, where they won’t draw attention. If you act at night near the city walls, not to mention anything else, the authorities will treat you as a thief and capture you.”

“You… fat idiot, why do you always oppose me?”

Zhang Yanji was so angry he gritted his teeth and muttered, “To be honest, what this kid said does make some sense.”

“Someone! The commander is here!”

Just as Zhou and Zhang were arguing, Wang Xiaochun suddenly shouted excitedly, “Commander, there are people coming ahead. They seem to be our comrades.”

It turned out that about three hundred steps away, by a hillock, there were dozens of soldiers gathered. Although their faces couldn’t be seen, just by their armor, everyone could roughly determine their origin!

“Send someone to invite them over!”

Li Kuo took a deep breath and gave orders to Wang Xiaochun. For these defeated soldiers, the shadow of war lingered, casting a deep sense of guilt in their minds. On one hand, they felt like useless scum, believing it was their fault that they had lost the battle. On the other hand, they feared encountering their former comrades, fearing scorn and contempt from them.

The more such times there were, the more he needed to show generosity, making them feel that no one had abandoned them and that they had always been part of the Anxi Tang army. As for fleeing in defeat, although it violated military rules, it was understandable given human nature. After all, when a large army was defeated, how many had the courage to gather again under their commander for reorganization? Most would scatter like birds and beasts. Of course, this did not mean Li Kuo approved of soldiers fleeing after defeat. As a Tang soldier, one must take responsibility for fleeing in battle. However, in wartime, most commanders would be lenient with these defectors, even temporarily setting aside their faults in exchange for future merits. He believed General Gao would do the same given his experience in leading troops.

So he wasn’t worried at all about dealing with these soldiers. In fact, what worried him most was whether they would have the courage to face their past.

In less than half a candlestick’s time, those dozen or so defeated soldiers staggered over under Wang Xiaochun’s “pushing.” Upon seeing Li Kuo’s armor, they realized they were facing a general of at least the fourth rank and immediately knelt down, pressing their heads to the ground.

“General, outside Talas City, we were defeated. General Gao is leading everyone in a desperate resistance, but the Arabs are in too great numbers. Our men can’t hold out. Those damned Göktürks turned traitor when the situation turned unfavorable, and the Arabs took the opportunity to attack our center. General Gao can’t hold on anymore!”

The speaker was a fire officer. Clearly, he had never met Li Kuo and thought this was just another unit of the Anxi army, so he poured out all his grievances from the past month.