Chapter 31: Dismounting (4)

As Said bin Humaid had predicted, barely had he sent Sangchen Nao away when scouts arrived with news that a 30,000-strong Tang army was already at the gates of Taraz!
As the defender of Taraz, Said had experienced countless wars, intrigues, and coups throughout his life. At this moment, he showed the courage and composure befitting a Persian warrior. Unperturbed, he sent messengers through side gates to Samarkand for reinforcements while organizing the defenders of Taraz and personally inspecting the city’s defenses.
Unlike other cities in the Western Regions, Taraz served as a granary for the Persians in the Transoxiana region and held great strategic importance, which meant it was permanently guarded by nearly 10,000 troops. Although its walls were not as sturdy as those of Samarkand, it was impossible to capture Taraz by force without an army ten times larger than its defenders.
The Tangs wanted to end the battle quickly!
From the Tangs’ urgent siege efforts, Said could deduce Gao Xianzhi’s true intentions. With the Persian allied forces holding a decisive advantage, if the Tangs wanted any chance of survival, they had to capture Taraz before Samarkand’s reinforcements arrived…
“Pass my orders: no matter how much the Tangs shout, refuse to engage in battle!”
Said sneered at the dense ranks of Tang soldiers below the city walls, thinking, “My city has ample supplies. With such a siege, I’ll just outlast you!”
“But, but what if they insult Allah…”
The adjutant glanced at Said hesitantly and asked timidly.
“Allah won’t mind a few insults! Bringing all of Transoxiana and Anxi under Persian rule and ensuring its people follow Islamic teachings is the greatest respect for Allah!”
Said said with a faint smile, “Let them curse as much as they want. I don’t believe a great battle can be won through insults!”
“Yes!”
The adjutant dared not say more, bowed to Said, and respectfully withdrew.
“The guards on the walls must be rotated three times a day—no signs of fatigue allowed!”
Said glanced at the gate officers of the northern city and ordered loudly.
“As long as we hold on another ten days, Persia will forever rule the Western Regions!”
Said spread his arms wide and shouted to the sky…
“How is things progressing?”
With his hands behind his back, Gao Xianzhi gazed solemnly at the northern city walls of Taraz and suddenly asked.
Duan Xiushi was momentarily stunned before clasping his fists and saying, “Commander Gao, I’ve already sent a squad of scouts to investigate the terrain around Taraz. There are many rocks buried there, so it’s unlikely they can dig their way into the city.”
“Oh!”

The brightness in Gao Xianzhi’s eyes vanished instantly as he sighed lightly, “It seems we still have to launch a forced attack!”
It had been over two days since they arrived near Talas, and the soldiers were fully rested. Officers and men of all ranks were eager to engage the Arabs in battle, as if the Arabs were mere puppets and their siege was merely a formality before victory.
Only Gao Xianzhi himself knew how difficult the Arabs were to deal with. No matter how confident or even arrogant he appeared in front of his troops, he couldn’t deceive himself. The scene from three years ago had left a deep impression on him—three thousand elite Arab cavalry had swept through his five thousand infantry, capturing several cities in Transoxiana. Although the Tang infantry back then couldn’t compare to today’s elite forces, once a shadow was cast, it wouldn’t be easily dispelled.
To be honest, even for this well-equipped Tang army, the chances of winning a forced attack on Talas were no more than 40%.
He set up the main camp of the Tang-Tibetan alliance fifty li away in the Wusun Sea marshes, leaving about a thousand men to guard it. Located at a crossroads in Transoxiana, it allowed for both offense and defense. Even if they lost the first battle, they could retreat to the Wusun Sea and plan their next move.
He brought the rest of his troops to a low plain three li north of Talas’ northern city. He chose to attack from the north gate because the area bordered the desert, eliminating the need for a moat and thus reducing many complications. This was also why he sent people to scout the terrain around Talas.
Cities near deserts often have loose soil, and if faced with sandstorms, it might take days of hard work to dig to the bottom. But clearly, luck wasn’t on his side—Talas was built entirely on extremely hard rocks.
“General Gao, need not worry. I am willing to lead three thousand men as vanguard and fight our way through!”
Seeing Gao Xianzhi’s gloomy expression, Duan Xiushi thought for a moment before kneeling down and volunteering.
“Ah, Xiushi, why go to such lengths?”
Gao Xianzhi stepped forward and helped Duan Xiushi up. “Since the king of Buhara is willing to serve our emperor loyally, we should give him this chance. Otherwise, he’ll complain that I’m not giving him a chance to earn merits!”
“Yes!”
Duan Xiushi agreed readily and stood up. “But we need to hurry. Continuing like this is not in our army’s interest!”

He was well aware that using the Hu troops from Bawhanna to first exhaust the Abbasid forces and that siege equipment was the best option. But once Abu Muslim heard of this, he would surely rush with his troops to help at Talas at full speed. With the combat strength of the Bawhanna Hu troops, expecting them to capture Talas within ten days was nothing but delusion. If things continued like this, by the time the Abbasid cavalry arrived at the gates of Talas, his own forces would surely be defeated.

“Well, I’ll have Ashilanda lead three charges. After that, you take the elite troops to attack the city!”

Gao Xianzhi clearly had no better solution and could only try his best to preserve the strength of the Anxi army.

“What’s the situation in Suire?”

Gao Xianzhi suddenly turned around and looked back at the snow-capped mountains behind him.

“A great victory in Suire! A truly great victory!”

Hearing Gao Xianzhi ask about this, Duan Xiushi rarely showed a smile: “You wouldn’t believe it, but that kid Li Kuo is quite capable. He managed to capture Suire City in such a short time and drove Moqi Zhi back into the desert to eat sand!”

Gao Xianzhi took the report from Duan Xiushi’s hands, glanced at it quickly, and smiled: “If that’s the case, we no longer have to worry about our rear. If the younger generations are working so hard, if we don’t go all out to capture Talas City, won’t it be a laughingstock to others?”

As for Li Kuo, he didn’t feel much emotion toward him. Neither favoring nor suppressing—this was Gao Xianzhi’s principle in dealing with subordinates. As long as someone didn’t hold a deep grudge against him, he wouldn’t deliberately interfere. This young man was so outstanding; his future seemed boundless.

“General Gao, with just one word from you, wouldn’t I, old Duan, risk my life for you?”

Seeing that Gao Xianzhi was in a good mood, Duan Xiushi patted his chest and vowed loyalty: “I’ve followed General Gao for nearly a decade, through countless fierce battles. It’s not just Talas City here—even Samarkand. As long as you give the order, I, old Duan, will be the first to charge with my sword. If anyone stands in our way, I’ll kill them! If any of my brothers dares to frown, I’ll break their legs!”

Gao Xianzhi found it amusing that Duan Xiushi was jealous of Li Kuo: “Who asked you to risk your life? I still expect you to ‘work hard’ for me for the rest of your life. Old men like you are as rare as they are valuable. I won’t allow you to quit so soon!”

After jokingly scolding Duan Xiushi for a while, Gao Xianzhi regained his serious expression and said, “Pass the order: start cooking at the third watch today, and extinguish the fires by the fifth watch to return to camp for rest. Tonight, I’ll launch a night attack on Talas City!”

“I’ll obey the order!”

Duan Xiushi bowed respectfully to Gao Xianzhi with a military salute, an almost imperceptible hint of melancholy appearing on his face.
“Today, I will launch a night attack on Talas City!”
These were the very words Gao Xianzhi had said seven years earlier!
Suddenly, the gates in Duan Xiushi’s mind swung open, and memories surged forth like a tide, with clear fragments emerging one after another.
Seven years ago, he had followed Gao Xianzhi in a fierce night battle!
That night, the moon shone bright and the drums echoed throughout the sky; brave soldiers advanced with swords in hand, joyfully beheading the enemies. That autumn night, with gusts of wind and fluttering banners, generals wielded their spears while chatting cheerfully, and the sound of victory was soon heard.