Chapter 64: Fighting to the Death (IV)

Just moments ago, these Arab cavalry were nothing but cowardly men afraid of death. Yet after being incited by that general, they all turned into brave warriors on the battlefield.
Seeing the spirited Arab warriors, many Tang army infantry soldiers were stunned.
“Tch!”
Li Siye spat into a ditch at his feet and cursed, “Are they just a bunch of charlatan leaders who live off others’ labor and wait for death in heaven? How can they be so charming? Well, today I’ll show you the true face of those charlatans and see if they can protect you from swords and spears!”
“Charge!”
With a loud shout, Li Siye raised his eight-foot-long halberd high and swung it at the approaching cavalry. His strength was immense, and fueled by anger, his strike was utterly ruthless—severing the horse’s head in one go. The Arab cavalryman, seeing the horse’s head fall in front of him, was so shocked that he fainted.
Ignoring these weaklings, Li Siye laughed loudly, “Again!”
Before he could finish speaking, his halberd had already pierced into an Arab cavalryman’s shoulder blade, splitting through the bone and cutting off half of his body. Blood gushed from the cavalryman’s chest, splashing all over Li Siye’s face. Yet he didn’t pause at all and continued to push forward.
Under his leadership, the Tang army’s halberd formation unleashed tremendous power. Those once-proud armored cavalry were utterly helpless against the gleaming halberds. One after another, the Anxi infantry seemed to be mechanically carrying out their mission, cutting down lives with each strike.
“Heh, Yuan Guang, let’s have a good fight today!”
Li Siye flung a headless corpse aside and laughed wildly. It had been so long since he’d felt this exhilaration—his body felt absolutely fantastic today!
“How could we dare disobey General Li’s orders?”
Bai Yuan Guang pulled a blood-stained spear out of an Arab man’s abdomen and smiled at Li Siye, as if they were playing a game.
“Again!”
“Let’s have a good fight!”
However, the Arabs had clearly begun making tactical adjustments. Their earlier spear infantry had already entered the battlefield, and with their support, the armored cavalry were slowly infiltrating toward the center of the formation. Though they could only move one step at a time, where there’s one, there’s two, and where there’s two, there’s three. If they could carve out a path through the armored halberd formation, they could expand that path infinitely.

What was even more terrifying was that the massive Arab light cavalry were attacking from both flanks, constantly circling around the Tang army’s formation. They seemed to be searching for an opportunity to strike directly at the Tang army’s central force. However, Li Siyeh seemed to have anticipated this move and had already rearranged the formation, placing 5,000 heavily armored infantry on either flank of the halberd soldiers, thus creating an effective protective circle that fully shielded Gao Xianzhi’s central force. But this clearly sacrificed the infantry’s offensive momentum; the halberd soldiers lacked effective support from the heavily armored infantry, so all the pressure of the attack fell on them. “At all costs, we must prevent them from reaching the central force!” Li Siyeh wiped the blood from his face and continued speaking. He could clearly see signs of defeat on the Arab left flank through the misty blood and swirling dust. Xiu Shi seemed to have succeeded and was driving the retreating troops toward the Arab central force according to his plan. Once this strategy was implemented, not even the gods could save them! He must hold on until Xiu Shi succeeded—both sides were now fighting fiercely for control of the central force, and whoever held out an extra moment would be the winner! “Tch, come on! Since I’m in the mood today, I’ll train with you guys to show you what true strength is!” Li Siyeh stepped forward again, raising his halberd high, drawing a “magnificent and graceful” arc。…… Unnoticed, the 10,000 light cavalry led by Sa’id had already reached the Tang army’s left flank. These 10,000 cavalrymen were a reserve force deliberately left by Abu Muslim, intended to strike suddenly from behind the Tang army and prevent them from recovering. Since it was a covert ambush, silence and speed were essential. In fact, apart from the leather armor worn by the riders, these cavalrymen had almost no other protective gear, which greatly reduced the weight on their horses and maximized their speed advantage. The reason for attacking from the left flank was that it was the weakest point in the Tang army’s formation. After Duan Xiu Shi led his troops into battle, Gao Xianzhi reorganized the Buhainan troops and the Göktürk mercenaries. Ashilanda led his men to fill the gap left by Duan Xiu Shi, while the Göktürks moved to the left flank to protect the central force. Analyzing the situation, the Buhainan troops had suffered heavy losses as vanguard forces during the attack on Talas City, whereas the Göktürks had not truly participated in any major battles. Thus, the Göktürk side should be stronger.

The reason why Sa’id chose strength over weakness was not because he loved challenges, but because of the promises made by the Khagan of the Göktürks to Mula’l-Agha. This barbarian chieftain must have thought that the Tang forces were on the decline and there was no need to fight to the death alongside Gao Xianzhi, so he sent secret envoys to his own camp to seek peace with Abu Muslim. After some consideration, the governor decided that Mula’l-Agha seemed genuine, so he sent himself with ten thousand light cavalry to attack the Tang left wing. Since his troops were all light cavalry, even if Mula’l-Agha was feigning surrender to set a trap, he would still have enough time to retreat unharmed.

Hmph, to be honest, this Mula’l-Agha is also a coward without backbone. First, he submitted to the Turkic Khazars, then defected to the Tang Dynasty, where he was appointed as a governor by the Tang emperor. Now that the Tang forces were weakened, he immediately defected to his side without hesitation. Such a person can only be used lightly, not heavily!

Although he despised Mula’l-Agha deeply, since this man had done him a great favor, he couldn’t be too harsh. If he truly intended to defect, he might as well offer him some incentives.

The army marched swiftly until they were only fifty paces away from the Göktürk forces. To guard against any trickery, Sa’id ordered his troops to enter a state of alert. However, the expected arrows from the Göktürks never came; they showed no intention of blocking them at all! As expected, they surrendered!

What promises had Governor Abu Muslim given Mula’l-Agha to make him so willingly submit as a lackey? Sa’id was filled with doubt, but showed none on his face.

“Great general of the Arabs, the friendly people of the Göktürks welcome your arrival. By the Eternal Heaven, may our friendship last forever.”

Seeing that the Arabs were approaching, Mula’l-Agha spurred his horse forward to meet them. For someone like him, so-called loyalty was nonsense; the only thing that mattered was profit. If the Tang emperor offered him more benefits, he would serve as a mercenary for the Tang. If the Arab caliph could offer even more, why not defect to them?

The world is inherently dark, and some people try to whitewash it—how presumptuous!

Although Sa’id disdained Mula’l-Agha’s character, he still forced a smile on his face. “I often hear that the Göktürks are the most friendly people in the steppes, and it seems true now. Governor Abu Muslim sent me here to join my Arab brothers in achieving this great feat! What do you think, Yehu?” “Oh, that’s truly a blessing from the Eternal Heaven!”

Moula Eluo paused for a moment, stepping aside to make room and saying, “General, please come this way!”
“Hmm.”
Said nodded in satisfaction, snapped his whip, and in the blink of an eye was at Moula Eluo’s side.
“Please, General!”
Moula Eluo’s eyes sparkled with smiles as he leaned slightly forward to invite him in.
Seeing Moula Eluo’s extremely obsequious grin, Said forced down his disgust by swallowing hard. Hmph, Gao Xianzhi was truly blind to choose such a person as an ally!
“Hmm!”
Said nodded and effortlessly pushed Moula Eluo’s horse half a pace back.
People like this were nothing but dogs to be exploited wherever they went!
“Let’s move forward!”
Said turned around and waved for his troops to follow. Less than a hundred steps away was the Tang army’s central force. He never expected to be able to break through the Tang defenses so easily and strike at their core!
This battle would be the one that made Said famous—it would surely go down in history!
“Woo—woo-woo-woo!”
“Woo—woo-woo-woo!”
The Göktürks sounded the horns to signal advance, but the sound was not meant to inspire courage or fight against enemies. They had defected to the Arabs, betraying the Tang forces at the most critical moment! Those mournful horn sounds were their elegy for the Tang army in Anxi!
Under the gloomy setting sun, over ten thousand Arab cavalry suddenly broke through the Göktürks’ defenses and charged at the Tang army’s center with overwhelming force! (Note 1)…
Note 1: The battle situation was extremely tense, with neither side able to defeat the other easily. But after fighting into the evening, the Göktürk mercenaries suddenly rebelled. They surrounded the Tang infantry from behind and cut off their connection to the cavalry. Taking advantage of the temporary chaos caused by this betrayal, the Arab coalition launched a heavy cavalry attack on the center of the Tang army. As a result, Gao Xianzhi was defeated, and out of the twenty thousand elite troops of Anxi, only a few thousand managed to escape.