Chapter 32: Night Battle (I)

It was around the hour of Zi, when the moon had dimmed and the night deepened, as if all things in the world had fallen into silence. A night breeze blew, rustling the summer grass. Occasionally, a few owls flew out from the grass up to their waists, emitting low hoots to express their dissatisfaction with the tranquil night. Taraz stood quietly in this plain, like a forgotten pearl in the sea. Apart from those on duty at the city gates and the personal guards at the governor’s palace, almost all the soldiers in the city had fallen asleep.

The arrival of the Tang army outside the city did not pose much pressure on them; they continued with their usual patrols and shifts. According to Governor Said, this isolated Tang force was already exhausted from marching deep into the region and could hardly pose any threat to Taraz. If the Tangs insisted on attacking, they were simply seeking their own destruction! With their sturdy city walls and plenty of boulders and logs, they could easily crush the Tangs with just a slight effort! At that time, General Abu Muslim would lead tens of thousands of elite Khorasan cavalry to wipe out the Tangs in no time. No one in the entire Abbasid Empire’s elite cavalry could escape under their iron hooves! All they needed to do was follow Governor Said’s orders and thoroughly search every corner of the city to prevent any spies from infiltrating. Once that was done, they could rest in peace…

As for standing guard, whoever was assigned to it would do it—after all, could the Tangs grow wings and fly into Taraz out of thin air? But if one was assigned to guard the city walls, it was just bad luck; no one else could be blamed. Dawud and Khalid were such unlucky souls. By rotation, it shouldn’t have been their turn to guard the city tonight, but the two drunkards from the 13th unit of the independent regiment were so drunk they were unconscious. Out of necessity, their officer assigned them to take over.

“Damn it, only twenty silver coins for the whole night? It’s utterly worthless!”
Dawud unbuckled a leather wine pouch from his waist and gulped down the wine. The murky liquid streamed down his chin, soaking the ground.

“Can’t you be quieter? Drinking is forbidden in the army, especially when we’re on duty!”
Khalid quickly covered Dawud’s mouth and urged him, “If they find out, with Governor Said’s temper, we’ll lose our heads!”

“Hmph, why can those two drunkards drink while we can’t? Is it just because they bribed Houssein? Don’t think I don’t know—entire bags full of Persian silver coins! Tsk tsk, no wonder those two wretches get so many rewards even without holding a weapon in battle!”
Daud gulped down another gulp of strong liquor and complained, “Poor souls like us with no connections—how much longer will we have to suffer before we can make a name for ourselves? They say Allah protects his believers, and we worship him so devoutly, but has he ever brought us even a bit of luck?”
“Can’t you keep it down? General Houssein is coming to inspect soon!”
Khalid was anxious, jumping around, and prayed to Daud with folded hands, “Isn’t this also an opportunity? Guarding the city isn’t that hard anyway. We can earn twenty silver coins just by staying here one night—what’s there to complain about?”
After saying that, Khalid instinctively glanced westward. Seeing that Houssein’s patrol was still a hundred paces away, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The Persian patrol was organized in groups of three hundred, with one captain for every hundred men and one deputy captain for every fifty, each in charge of their troops. Officers like captains and deputies often received generous allowances from the patrols, while for low-ranking soldiers like Khalid and Daud, after layers of exploitation, it was already a blessing if they got twenty silver coins.
“Hmph, this is money earned through hard work!”
Daud snorted disdainfully, “Who knows when the Tang people will attack? If they launch a night attack, won’t we be the first to take the hits? I still want to stay warm in bed—why should they get all the good things?”
“Ah, come on. The Tang people have traveled a long distance—how could they launch a night attack? Are they made of steel and iron?”
Khalid shook his head, “Don’t worry about other things. We just need to stay here one night. By sunrise tomorrow, we’ll have twenty silver coins!”
“Look at your lack of ambition!”
Daud glanced at Khalid disdainfully and handed him the wine pouch. “Have some to warm up. It’s freezing out here at night!”
“But the army forbids drinking…”
“Just drink if I say so—stop talking so much nonsense.”
“What if the Tang army arrives suddenly…”
Khalid glanced at the dark bushes outside the city, feeling inexplicably terrified.

“If the Tang people come, I’ll take care of them—no need for you to worry! Drink damn it, are you even a man or what?”
“Hey, hey. I’ll drink!”
Khalid quickly took the wine pouch from his old friend and took a sip.
“Indeed good wine. Tsk tsk.”
“One sip for you, one sip for me! Without this old friend by my side, I really wouldn’t know how to get through these long nights!”
Unaware of it, both of them gradually became dazed. Their bodies slumped as they leaned against the battlements of the northern city wall of Talas, falling asleep…
Not far from the city of Talas, sparks appeared in the Tang army camp, gradually forming a long dragon of fire that silently moved toward the outskirts of Talas.
Each of them carried several soil bags on their backs, wooden pieces in their mouths, and soft cloth tied around their feet, allowing them to make almost no sound. Following Gao Xianzhi’s instructions, the troops from Bahanna led the way, with the elite Tang forces closely following to support each other. The Geluo people, on the other hand, were on another mission and were not part of the combined force.
The most eye-catching sight was the hundreds of oddly shaped, unevenly tall carts pushed by armored soldiers in the middle of the column, all covered with oilskin felt—clearly ordered by Gao Xianzhi.
The Tang army was well-prepared for this night attack. From the military governors down to the ordinary soldiers, everyone had made numerous adjustments for this battle. The most noticeable change was in the army’s formation. Gao Xianzhi abandoned the usual triangular formation used in marches and opted instead for a single-file line.
This formation concealed the Tang army to the greatest extent. Moreover, when they were three li away from the city walls, Gao Xianzhi ordered all troops to extinguish their torches. Without approaching the city, it would be difficult for the Arabs to detect the Tang army hidden in the pitch-black night.
Successfully reaching the outskirts of Talas was the key to this battle!
The greatest advantage of a night attack was the element of surprise. If the Tang army could suddenly appear at the gates of Talas while most of the Arab soldiers were still asleep, they could easily use the soil bags to build a ramp as high as the city walls, allowing their soldiers to climb up and attack!
Building a ramp to attack the city was clearly a much better option than scaling the walls with ladders. With a ramp nearly thirty steps wide, the Tang soldiers could even face the Arabs head-on without any disadvantage!
“General Gao, hehe, just these nearly a hundred carts full of weapons will give the Arabs a real taste of trouble. In my opinion, our men can finally relax!”

Seeing the crossbows in the middle of the formation, Li Siye couldn’t help but rub his palms in admiration. He had already “spoken carelessly” several times along the way.
“You kid, you have such beautiful dreams!”
Gao Xianzhi was clearly in a good mood. Holding the reins in his left hand, he nodded at Li Siye half-jokingly and said, “The barbarian troops from Bahuana are there only to be used as a distraction. In this battle, it’s our Anxi Army that will be the main force!”
Seemingly suddenly remembering something, Gao Xianzhi’s smile froze, followed by a long sigh. “It seems that from the moment we joined the Anxi Army, our lives will surely be filled with little leisure.”
“Siye, do you regret it?”
Gao Xianzhi narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled at Li Siye.
“What’s there to regret? If a man can’t expand his territory and stays coiled up at home all day, I don’t know how others might cope, but I, Old Li, would surely die of frustration!”
Indeed, a man is born to protect his homeland and expand its borders. That is a man’s duty, that is a man’s responsibility!
This is our homeland. Since the time of Emperor Gaozong, this has been our home! We are here to reclaim what belongs to us!
Flags fluttered in the border town, with a sharp night wind blowing. The cold moon shone, and the beacon fires burned brightly. Young men with rosy cheeks and black hair stood guard with carved spears. They raised their halberds, laughing at those scholars who always caused trouble.
In their prime, they joined the army, shouting as they swallowed up the remaining enemies. Battle clouds gathered high, and wolf smoke rose at night. Once the enemies were defeated, they volunteered to lead the elite troops. Let’s cast aside this resentment and cross the river with a single whip!……
Note 1: Chi Xiao: The ancient name for an owl in China.