Chapter 89: Right and Wrong (II)

The atmosphere in the room became awkward for a moment. Gao Xianzhi rubbed his palms to hide his panic. He had never felt as helpless or lost as he did now. In his mind, people like Li Kuo were merely pawns he used, while Duan Xiushi was his right-hand man, even his brother.
Now, this brother was about to leave him—something even the ice-cold-hearted Gao Xianzhi could not accept.
“Let’s talk about this later. General Suo Min is still full of vigor, eager to serve further. If you force him to retire now, won’t he be restless? In my opinion, he wants to continue receiving the emperor’s salary for a few more years. Don’t rush to seize his position.”
Though he said this half-jokingly, it didn’t have the desired effect. Duan Xiushi merely replied in a low voice and fell silent.
Gao Xianzhi’s expression darkened. He tried to bring up some light topic, but anything he said only made the situation more awkward. As the two stubbornly waited for the other to speak, sudden hurried footsteps were heard outside.
“Commander Gao, urgent news from Anxi! Urgent news!”
Recognizing the bodyguard’s frantic breathing, Gao Xianzhi instinctively frowned. “Come in!”
The bodyguard rushed in, knelt down on one knee, and handed Gao Xianzhi a handwritten letter. “Commander Gao, this is a secret message just arrived from the east. I brought it to you right away without delay.”
“Mm.”
Gao Xianzhi gave a brief response and took the letter to read it. The more he read, the more shocked he became, until his face turned pale. His teeth trembled slightly as he asked, “Is everything written here true?”
The bodyguard was merely a messenger and knew nothing about the truth of the news. He kept bowing and saying, “I never opened the envelope, so I don’t know if it’s true or not. But it was delivered by General Bai Yuanguang’s men, so it should be genuine…”
Hearing this, Gao Xianzhi collapsed onto a stool, exclaiming, “Heaven wants to destroy me! Heaven wants to destroy me!”
Seeing Gao Xianzhi in such a state, Duan Xiushi quickly asked, “What happened, Commander Gao?”
In his memory, Commander Gao had always been composed and unflappable. Even during the surprise attack on the Small Buleh tribe, when he led his troops in a flanking attack, he hadn’t been this upset. It seemed the situation was indeed extremely critical.
“Read it yourself!”
Gao Xianzhi shook his head and handed the letter to Duan Xiushi. Confused, Duan Xiushi took it and unfolded it carefully.
There were only a few words on the entire letter, yet they were enough to plunge anyone into despair.
“Rebellion in Suiye; the city has changed hands. Return quickly!”

Duan Xiushi certainly understood what this news meant—Suoye City was a necessary passage for everyone to return eastward. This was also why General Gao, while leading his troops to Talas, ordered Li Kuo, the governor of Shule, to lead the Tianwei elite to suppress the rebellion in Suoye. He was leaving room for maneuver for his army! As long as Suoye City remained in the hands of the Anxi forces, they could withdraw to the four garrisons of Anxi at a steady pace. But now, with the rebellion in Suoye, their retreat route had been cut off. If they delayed any longer, by the time the Arabs launched an offensive eastward, they would have no choice but death. The Turks were truly ruthless! Gao Xianzhi sighed inwardly. Initially, the Tufuhan had seemed so obedient to him merely to gain the support of the Tang forces in Anxi in order to seize Suoye City. After capturing Suoye, his attitude toward the city and the Turks undoubtedly sparked jealousy in them. After his crushing defeat at Talas, they naturally sought an opportunity to retaliate. Hah, it was only human nature—those barbarians were like ungrateful wolves. No matter how much you gave them, it would never satisfy their growing greed. “General, we can’t afford to delay any longer in Kulan City. There’s still a good chance to return to Anxi eastward soon. If we wait until the Arabs surround the city, it will truly be too late.” Seeing Gao Xianzhi silent, Duan Xiushi hurriedly urged him, “General, stop hesitating! Give orders quickly!” “General, please give orders quickly!” Just as Gao Xianzhi was about to speak, another bodyguard rushed into the room, stumbling along the way and crying, “General, the Arabs have arrived! They’ve surrounded Kulan City!” Boom! The last pillar of faith in Gao Xianzhi’s heart collapsed, and the governor of Anxi spat out a mouthful of blood before fainting… Chaos ensued in the palace of Kulan City. In Gao Xianzhi’s residence, a group of Anxi generals gathered around him. King Li Huaizhong of Kulan and his confidants were also present, looking deeply worried. After an initial diagnosis by Kulan’s imperial physician, it was determined that Gao Xianzhi had fainted due to excessive anger causing his blood to surge to his head, and he wasn’t seriously injured. Yet, as long as Gao Xianzhi didn’t wake up, the Anxi generals couldn’t relax. With the Arabs now surrounding the city and their leader sick, the safety of the general was of utmost importance. How could they not be anxious? After the physician patiently explained the situation to the generals countless times, Gao Xianzhi finally opened his eyes. “Water, water!” His throat seemed clogged with blood, and his voice was extremely weak.

Duan Xiushi quickly brought a cup of water to the bedside and said, “General Gao, drink slowly. A small group of Arab barbarians isn’t a big deal. Now, our newly recruited soldiers are ready for battle, and our strength is no less than theirs. Besides, we are defending the city, and we have the support of the King of Kulan! Right, King Li?”
Duan Xiushi glared sharply at Li Huaizhong, signaling that he had better be smart.
Li Huaizhong instinctively stepped back and smiled brightly, “As you say, my Kulan is a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. We must lend full support in times of crisis.”
Gao Xianzhi took a sip of water and waved his hand, “You don’t need to comfort me. I’ve spent my life in the military; I’ve seen all kinds of situations. I can handle this pressure.”
“Oh, as long as you stay calm, that’s all that matters!”
It was only then that Duan Xiushi realized that no matter how strained their relationship with General Gao was, in times of crisis, everyone depended on each other and couldn’t afford to abandon one another!
“What’s the exact situation? How many troops have the Arabs brought? Do they have siege equipment?”
With Duan Xiushi’s help, Gao Xianzhi sat up slightly and asked carefully. After all, as a military commander, he considered everything comprehensively, asking key questions at each step.
Hearing this, Li Kuo stepped forward and replied, “Reporting to General Gao, according to the initial estimates of our scouts, the Arabs have brought about 30,000 troops this time, including 10,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry. From what we can see so far, they don’t have any large-scale siege equipment.”
He was the first to detect the enemy forces. When he saw the massive Arab army advancing toward the city, he immediately sent scouts like Xianyu Yucheng to assess their strength. Based on Xianyu Yucheng’s report, the number of Arabs wasn’t very large—only 30,000. Kulan City and Talas City were similar in size, with similar wall heights. Since the Arabs didn’t bring siege equipment, their only option was to besiege the city. With ample food supplies inside, the defenders could hold out for a year or even half a year.
So he wasn’t too worried. As long as General Gao remained calm and made the right arrangements, the Arabs wouldn’t stand a chance of capturing the city.
The young man had already stepped out of the shadow of his argument with Gao Xianzhi. What concerned him most now was how to repel the enemy; personal grudges could be put aside for now.
Gao Xianzhi wasn’t expecting Li Kuo to reply. He was momentarily stunned before smiling and saying, “That’s good. It seems Abu Muslim isn’t entirely confident he can take Kulan City.”

With things having reached this point, there was no need to hide anything in front of King Li Huaizhong of Julan. In fact, since the Anxi army entered Julan City, Li Huaizhong’s interests had been tightly tied to those of everyone else—prosperity for all, and suffering for all!
As the old saying goes, it’s easy to invite gods but hard to send them away. Even if that man regretted it now, how could he tell those nearly ten thousand Tang army soldiers?
“In that case, they’re trying to trap us.”
Gao Xianzhi sighed, revealing Abu Muslim’s intentions. No matter when, 30,000 troops, without any heavy siege equipment, would find it difficult to capture a fortified city, but it was enough to cut off the city from its surroundings.
As long as they tightly surrounded Julan City and denied everyone a chance to break through, they would eventually force them to collapse from desperation. If they also used some tricks during the siege to cause division among them, things would become even more difficult.
As for food supplies, the Arabs didn’t need to worry at all. With the autumn harvest just completed, the villages were filled with corn and wheat. The Arabs only needed to send a squad of cavalry to gather enough food for half a year for their army.
After all, the Arabs were capable of anything. Expecting them to treat the local people kindly was like trying to skin a tiger.
If this continued, it would surely be the people who would collapse first!……