Chapter 38: The Wasteland (III)

The Yuliang Road collapsed—suddenly, decisively, without the slightest hesitation.
Thousands of soldiers from the Abbasid and Tang armies perished along with it.
They vanished so silently, so heroically, so resolutely, that no sigh could even be uttered in their honor.
The most tragic thing in the world is to build an ideal after enduring countless hardships, only for that ideal to be crushed alive before your eyes by your mortal enemy, who then steps on it!
For Gao Xianzhi, witnessing this scene was utterly heart-wrenching. Seeing his pride, the Yuliang Road, destroyed by the Abbasid forces, left him unable even to curse!
He was astonished by the caprices of fate and stunned by the twists of battle. He clearly saw the Tang vanguard reach less than twenty steps from the walls of Talas, and he saw the signs of the Abbasid troops’ defeat. But it was all over—everything ended because of those damned trebuchets!
If his scouts had learned in advance that Talas had trebuchets, if the Tang vanguard could have broken through the obstacles before the Abbasids made up their minds, if he could have destroyed those damned trebuchets in time, perhaps he would have already led his troops into Talas!
But there are no “ifs” on the battlefield, no assumptions. He lost—he lost to the cunning of the Abbasids, to his own carelessness…
No, he hadn’t lost! The Abbasids were already at their wits’ end, and he still had enough troops to turn the tide. As long as he captured Talas before dawn, he would have time to reorganize his forces and face the challenge of Abu Muslim’s Khurasan cavalry!
“Siyeh, Xiushi, keep attacking the two flanks of the northern city! Don’t stop—take Talas by dawn at all costs!”
Gao Xianzhi, his eyes red, pointed at the city that had cost him thousands of soldiers, furious like a wounded beast.
“General Gao, the Yuliang Road is destroyed. Our men have no insiders inside—probably…”
Although Duan Xiushi didn’t want to say the truth, seeing Gao Xianzhi’s state, he hurried to comfort him, fearing he might give a wrong order.
“What, are you scared?”
Gao Xianzhi turned around abruptly, staring at Duan Xiushi like a venomous snake.

Duan Xiushi had never been this scared before. Gao Shuai’s gaze was utterly terrifying—a look only beasts should possess. Hadn’t Gao Shuai always been refined and kind? How could he suddenly become so violent? He had followed Gao Shuai in battles across the land for nearly a decade, facing battles even tougher than this one, yet he had never seen Gao Shuai lose control like this.

What had caused his emotions to spiral out of control?

“Gao Shuai, I’m not afraid. It’s just that without the Fish Beam Road, our army can’t take control of the city walls right away. Relying solely on scaling ladders, even with the support of crossbow fire, it will cost us a tremendous amount to capture Talas.”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear enough. Gao Xianzhi’s decision to lead his troops straight to Talas was a bold move; even if it wasn’t recklessness, it was still extremely risky.

The reason Gao Xianzhi was so eager to capture Talas was to gain more time to reorganize his forces and face his greatest opponent—Abu Muslim. He needed time, time to catch his breath—his army’s structure meant he couldn’t fight two battles in a row!

But this led to a serious consequence: the soldiers bore an immense psychological burden. Faced with a war where failure was not an option, their mindset became distorted, reducing their tactical effectiveness.

Moreover, the Arabs were united in their resolve, fiercely defending the northern city walls. With no better solution, Gao Xianzhi had to use his Ba Huan Na soldiers to wear down the Arabs’ strength. He thought he could then launch a final assault to seize the city walls and provide support for the main forces scaling the ladders on the flanks. But to his surprise, the Arabs had ballistae!

Without the Fish Beam Road, the soldiers couldn’t take control of the city walls. Without that, the entire siege lacked a foothold or an advantage.

In a siege without such an advantage, the attacking force faced immense pressure. Without a five- or ten-fold numerical advantage, capturing a fortified city solely through ladders meant hoping the enemy would make a mistake.

To save face for Gao Xianzhi, Duan Xiushi didn’t say outright that if they really fought head-on, the Tang army might be utterly destroyed!

What to do? What to do? Should they retreat just like that?

Gao Xianzhi’s mind was in chaos; he really didn’t know how to decide. His own loyal troops hadn’t suffered heavy losses yet, but if he retreated now, he simply couldn’t bear it!

“Gao Shuai, if it’s old Li speaking, let’s just charge at them all together! I’ll lead five hundred swordsmen to jump straight into the city from the battering rams, open the city gates for you, and let our brothers enter!”

Li Siye couldn’t bear to see Gao Xianzhi in such a difficult situation, so he volunteered, “That damn city wall of Talas isn’t very high. There are quite a few civilian houses in the city as well. If I lead people to jump down from the siege engines, and we’re wearing armor, we shouldn’t suffer serious injuries!”
“Siye, don’t be reckless!”
Although Gao Xianzhi was desperate to survive, he wasn’t so blinded by the desire to win that he would risk everything. The Moadao troops were elite soldiers carefully trained over nearly a decade—they were the Tang army’s trump card and the foundation of its forces. How could they be used in such a reckless way? It was putting their lives on the line. If they won, it might be fine, but if they lost, an entire elite unit would be wasted!
“It hasn’t come to that yet. There might be other ways.”
Gao Xianzhi placed a hand on his forehead and sighed deeply. It must be the third watch now; there was still some time before dawn. He was sure he could come up with a solution.
“Hey! Things have reached this point—what’s the harm in going all in? In my opinion, we should just charge in and kill them all. Don’t let their numbers fool you; most of them are weaklings. We don’t need many—just 500 men. If you give me 500 men, I guarantee I’ll open the northern city gates for you!”
“This…”
Hearing Li Siye’s words, Gao Xianzhi felt a slight urge. Using heavily armored cavalry to confront the Persian long-spear warriors might indeed be the best option at the moment. But if it failed, Siye would be sacrificed!
As Gao Xianzhi hesitated, a Tang scout rode a fast horse to the main camp. Not far from Gao Xianzhi, he quickly dismounted and stumbled forward, kneeling before him and shouting, “Commander Gao, Commander Gao! Something terrible has happened!”
“What is it? Why such panic?”
Gao Xianzhi’s expression turned grim as he snapped in a cold tone.
“It’s the Persians! Nearly 100,000 of them have crossed the Talas River and are marching here aggressively. They’re already 30 li away—probably here in another two hours!”
The scout kept kowtowing, his voice trembling and almost crying.