Chapter 73: Ten Thousand Miles (1)

The general, renowned after countless battles, now turns back ten thousand miles toward the river bridge—his old friends are gone forever! The Yi River winds coldly in the west wind, and all those in attendance wear garments as white as snow. The valiant warrior’s sad song has not yet ended. Even the crying birds sense such deep sorrow; surely they will weep tears of blood rather than clear tears. Who will drink with me under the bright moon?

What is right, and what is wrong? What is good, and what is evil?

After the massacre, the forest remained blooming with colorful flowers and lush grass, with trees providing shade. Yet the soil among the bushes, stained with blood and filled with corpses, appeared even more fertile. The stench of blood in the air constantly irritated everyone’s nostrils, as if the desire for killing could corrupt all beings in just a moment.

Staring at the severed limbs and ruined walls before him, Pu Da Chui spat out a mouthful of phlegm. “Tch! You think you can gain fame just like that?”

“Da Chui!”

Li Kuo strode forward surrounded by the generals of the Copper Army. Seeing the scene before him, he couldn’t help frowning.

“Hmm. Take some of their armor with us. When we return to Shule, I’ll have the armorsmiths study it.”

The armor of the Arabs was clearly different from the standard armor of the Central Plains. It was necessary to order some research—even if it wasn’t possible to create arrows more effective at piercing their armor, at least some improvements could be made to the existing arrowheads.

Li Kuo didn’t want to stay longer. After giving a few brief instructions, he turned and walked toward the gentle breeze.

“General Li, I, Duan Xiu Shi, thank you on behalf of all my comrades!”

Duan Xiu Shi rushed forward and bowed to Li Kuo.

“General Duan, please rise. How dare I accept such great honor from you?”

Li Kuo quickly turned and helped Duan Xiu Shi up. “General Duan has fought alongside General Gao for nearly a decade, achieving remarkable military feats. How could a junior border general like me accept such great courtesy from you?”

Duan Xiu Shi was already blushing with shame. Waving his hand, he sighed, “Let’s not talk about it. I, Duan Xiu Shi, have fought alongside General Gao in many battles, killing enemy leaders as easily as picking fruits from a basket. But who would have thought that the Battle of Talas would turn out to be my last battle?”

“Why say such things, General Duan?”

Feeling pity, Li Kuo said gently, “The Arabs had several times more troops than our army. It was already remarkable that General Duan could defeat the Arab left wing with just ten thousand cavalry. As for the eventual defeat, it was because the Göktürks betrayed us at the battle, disrupting the morale of our Tang army. If we can gather our scattered troops and return to Anxi to rest and recover, we might still be able to confront the Arabs again.”

He had already learned about the details of the Battle of Talas from Duan Xiu Shi. Though filled with sorrow and anger, nothing could be done now—there was only to look forward.

“I have failed General Gao’s trust. I led ten thousand men out, and now, after arriving, I’ve only brought back a little over three hundred riders…”
Duan Xiushi’s voice choked up at this point as he forced down the words that wanted to escape his throat.
“General Duan is dead. Won’t your behavior just upset the men?”
Li Sheng, unable to stand by idly, stepped forward and said, “What we need to do now is to rally the scattered troops and bring back as many men as possible, rather than indulging in sorrow here!”
“Yes, a real man crying and whining like a woman—I truly despise you!”
Pu Da Chui rubbed his hands together and glanced at Duan Xiushi disdainfully.
“Da Chui!”
Li Kuo gave Pu Da Chui a stern look, stopping his carefree complaints. “General Duan, since this has already happened, we should look forward. You mentioned General Gao earlier—do you know where he is now?”
Duan Xiushi shook his head. “I haven’t seen General Gao since leading the troops into battle that night. I’ve been too busy fighting among the enemy forces to pay attention to such things. But General Gao should be with Siye; with him protecting him, General Gao shouldn’t be in danger.”
After a pause, Duan Xiushi added, “But in the early hours of the night, a huge fire broke out in the center of my Anxi army, with flames reaching the sky. By then, I was at a critical moment in battle and didn’t have the energy to worry about it. However, I guess General Gao and the others must have crossed the river at night.”
“Crossed the river at night?”
Li Kuo was slightly surprised and asked doubtfully.
“Yes. To boost the soldiers’ morale, we camped with our backs to the Talas River. The water wasn’t very deep—there was a shallow spot where the water barely reached our chests.”
After thinking for a moment, Duan Xiushi said, “If General Gao and the others took advantage of the situation to cross the river, they’re probably already out of danger now.”
“Oh!”
Li Kuo took a map from his bodyguard and slowly unrolled it. “General Duan, look—is this the crossing you mentioned?”
He moved his finger to a shallow area about a hundred li northeast of Talas City and circled it with a charcoal pen.
Duan Xiushi examined the map carefully before saying after a long while, “Yes, it’s here.”
“Then that’s right!”
Li Kuo nodded. “We came along the ancient course of the Pearl River, turning to the lower reaches of the Talas River only after passing through the Sangjial Pass. That’s why we encountered General Duan here!”
Duan Xiushi nodded. “That’s correct. The main army was stationed upstream of the Talas River. After my defeat, I led my men along the river valley to get here.”

Before long, Duan Xiushi seemed to think of something and exclaimed, “General Li intends to head north along the river?”
“That’s right. If General Gao were to withdraw his troops, he would have to cross the river at the riverbanks northeast of Talas City. By following the river valley and then turning west, we can inspect all locations along the way.”
Li Kuo took a deep breath and roughly drew a route on the map with a charcoal pencil.
“That’s not possible! General Li, I just led my troops upriver—both banks of the river are filled with Abbasid cavalry searching!”
At these words, Duan Xiushi suddenly slapped his own head. “How could I be so stupid? The Abbasids are sparing no effort to search the other side—surely General Gao has already escaped!”
With that, a hint of color returned to Duan Xiushi’s pale face.
Li Kuo fell silent for a moment. What Duan Xiushi said made some sense. If it were an ordinary general trying to flee by crossing the river, the Abbasids might not pay much attention. But the fact that the proud Abu Muslim was willing to deploy tens of thousands of cavalry to search both banks clearly indicated the importance of this person.
“But I was entrusted by General Gao. If…”
“Sigh! General Li, if General Gao has already crossed the river, heading north like this is just going in circles. If he’s unfortunately perished in the fire, we’ll be going there for nothing!”
Seeing that Li Kuo was being overwhelmed by emotion, Duan Xiushi hurriedly advised, “Judging from the urgency of the Abbasids, General Gao must have already crossed the river and returned. We should head straight north through the Sangjar Pass and meet up with them at Kulan City!”
Duan Xiushi drew a curved route on the map, urging him earnestly.