Chapter 68: Defying All Odds (IV)
Vowing to sweep away the Xiongnu at any cost, five thousand soldiers lost their lives in the desert sands. Pitiful are those bones by the Wuding River—still the subjects of dreams in women’s boudoirs!
Gazing at the vast sea of flames not far away, Gao Xianzhi spat out a mouthful of blood. Thick smoke, dark as clouds, rolled in, making people cough incessantly. Supported by his bodyguards, Gao Xianzhi straightened his back.
He truly couldn’t imagine—couldn’t believe that his soldiers would use such a method to stop the Arab cavalry. It was not worth it, absolutely not!
Whether from the smoke or sheer emotion, this usually ruthless commander suddenly found himself in tears. Amid the crackling sound of the burning wooden carts, he seemed to hear that familiar Tang army song!
“Can we say we have no clothes? I’ll share my robe with you. The king has called for war—let’s sharpen our spears. We share the same hatred. Can we say we have no clothes? I’ll share my cloak with you. The king has called for war—let’s sharpen our halberds. Let’s fight together. Can we say we have no clothes? I’ll share my skirt with you…”
Yes, they were comrades—always had been! Hierarchical differences could not hide that truth; never could! These soldiers were all trained and nurtured by Gao Xianzhi himself—his pride! Yet now, to save themselves, they faced death in such a manner!
Gradually, the sound disappeared, and the lonely night seemed as if nothing had happened. It all felt like illusions born from his own mind.
No, how could things come to this? How could he have lost everything? No, Gao Xianzhi would never lose—he simply could not!
“Someone! Someone! Tell Zhao Lin to load all the crossbows—I want to fight the Arabs head-on!”
Near madness, Gao Xianzhi kept punching the sandbag beside him.
“Commander Gao, Commander Gao, please listen to me.”
Xin Zhixu, a member of his bodyguard team, knelt on his knees and pleaded with him, “To slow down the Arab cavalry, Brother Wang Yu has already led five hundred soldiers to their deaths. And Brother Min Xia even set himself on fire with tung oil, sacrificing himself in the flames to delay their advance. They did all this for you!”
“Exactly because of that, I must avenge them! I’m their commander—I can’t just watch them die in vain! We can still fight! How many are left? Where is Zhao Lin?”
Gao Xianzhi waved his arms frantically, venting his grief. Yes, they all died for him—they died because of him. He had to avenge them! Avenge them!
“General Gao, the current fire can only hold off the Arabs for a while. If we don’t evacuate now, it will be too late! Yes, if you insist on fighting, we can certainly do so. With our crossbows and simple bows, we might even manage to defeat a thousand or two thousand of the Arab cavalry. But what good would that do? There are ten thousand armored cavalry on the other side. General Siye is now blocked by the Göktürk rebels and unable to send reinforcements. With just 1,800 infantry at our disposal, there’s no way we can win!” (Note 1)
After a brief pause, Xin Zixu continued, “Wang Yu and Min Xia were willing to sacrifice themselves out of necessity—they knew they couldn’t win this battle. They wanted to use their deaths to save you and the rest of the brothers. If you persist in fighting to the last moment, won’t their deaths be in vain?”
His words made sense, and Gao Xianzhi fell silent.
“But… but we’re almost at the walls of Talas. It pains me to withdraw like this!”
Gao Xianzhi gritted his teeth in anger, thrusting his sword into the sand, and shook his head.
“General Gao!”
Xin Zixu kowtowed repeatedly, saying, “As long as the green mountains remain, there will always be firewood. As long as you’re here, the spirit of the Anxi Army endures. As long as you’re here, the brothers’ morale stays strong! Victory and defeat are common in warfare. Besides, this time it’s because of those Göktürk scoundrels who betrayed us by joining the enemy’s side—it’s not your fault!”
Seeing that Gao Xianzhi remained unshaken, Xin Zixu grew desperate. “General Gao, we’re right by the Talas River now. I know a shallow spot where the water is barely up to our waists—we can swim across! General Gao, don’t hesitate any longer!”
“How’s the situation with Xiushi?”
Still unwilling to give up, Gao Xianzhi glanced toward the Arab army’s center. But by now it was completely dark, and from afar, the faint sparks made it impossible to see anything clearly.
Xin Zixu said, “General Gao, even if General Duan has the upper hand now and manages to defeat the Arab army’s center, we can’t stay here any longer! The Arabs are about to charge over. Let’s cross the Talas River first and see what happens.”
“No, how can I abandon Xiushi and cross the river alone?”
Gao Xianzhi waved his hand, refusing again.
“General Gao, you’re the backbone of the Anxi Army! If anything happens to you, won’t the brothers’ remaining will instantly crumble?”
Xin Zhixu swallowed his saliva and pleaded earnestly, “It would be best if General Duan wins. Then he can cross the Talas River to join us, and we can cross back to fight again. If General Duan loses, they can still escape safely. They are all light cavalry; as long as they ride along the banks of the Talas River, they will eventually find a way to bypass the enemy’s forces!”
Xin Zhixu was right—the Talas River wasn’t very long, and Duan Xiushi led the finest cavalry. Even if they were defeated, escaping wouldn’t be difficult for them.
But the thought of crossing the river alone and leaving Xiushi behind filled him with unease…
“Commander Gao, those who achieve great things don’t worry about trivial matters. Please stop hesitating!”
Xin Zhixu kept kowtowing to Gao Xianzhi, even scraping his forehead in the process. “I beg you on behalf of tens of thousands of soldiers from the Anxi Army. Please consider the bigger picture and don’t let personal feelings get in the way, Commander Gao!”
After a long silence, Gao Xianzhi finally waved his hand and said, “Very well, as you say—let’s cross the river.”
After a brief pause, he added, “Find someone to convey a message to Siye, telling him to stop holding his position and try to break through and escape as soon as possible!”
“I will obey your orders and surely not fail to fulfill your trust, Commander Gao!”
Seeing that Gao Xianzhi had finally agreed to cross the river, Xin Zhixu was overjoyed and agreed immediately.
But when he looked up, the dim light of the campfire revealed even more white hair at Commander Gao’s temples. The once valiant and heroic governor of Anxi who had dominated the Western Regions had suddenly become so old and lonely…?
Note 1: A composite crossbow has a range of 200 steps (300 meters), while a single crossbow has a range of 160 steps (240 meters). Both can pose a threat over various distances. At some point, military songs began to sound in front of the last line of defense of the Anxi Army.