East of Talas City, Atrach Mountain.
Standing on the low hill at the foot of the mountain, Gao Xianzhi, with disheveled hair and blood all over his body, stared blankly at the battlefield in the distance full of smoke and fighting, as if he was in trance and motionless.
After a long time, Gao Xianzhi closed his eyes and said with a sad face: "I have failed your Majesty's trust, and I have failed the soldiers under my command..."
A tall, muscular young general next to him said to Gao Xianzhi: "Protector, the enemy is coming with great force and our army has suffered heavy losses. We should take shelter for now."
Gao Xianzhi looked at the young general and asked: "Li Siye, let me ask you, how many troops are there in the remaining Tang army?"...
Li Siye replied: "There are less than 10,000 people. There are still front troops on the left and right sides. They are all divided and surrounded by the enemy and have lost contact with the central army. Hanba's troops are fighting against Tibu, Jiedan and other armies.
Refuse to fight any more and are retreating."
Gao Xianzhi gritted his teeth and shouted loudly: "Send the order! Gather all the troops and fight the enemy again tomorrow!"
Hearing this, Li Siye said anxiously: "Protector, Dashi's army is five times the number of our troops, and the Geluolu tribe has defected before the battle. The situation is over. Fighting again will be a dead end!"
Gao Xianzhi roared with red eyes: "How could Gao have fled in fear of battle all his life in the army?! If he goes back like this, how can he have the face to enter Anxi again, and how can he pay homage to the saint?!"
Li Siye scratched his head and advised: "Protector, you led your troops deep into the enemy's territory. There were no reinforcements behind you, your allies rebelled, and the food army was brave enough to fight. It is reasonable for you to lose. You and I both went to fight and die. Who can
Come to serve the country?"
When Gao Xianzhi heard this, he hesitated.
Li Siye said again: "The judge is still in Anxi. As long as you go back and give the order, you will be able to gather tens of thousands of troops in no time. You will just look for food and revenge next year. Why stay and give up your life for no reason?"
Woolen cloth?"
Gao Xianzhi sighed deeply and asked Li Siye: "According to your wishes, what should we do now?"
Li Siye: "Some suggestion is to gather the remaining troops, retreat to Baishiling, and retreat as soon as possible."
Gao Xianzhi closed his eyes and nodded slightly.
After bidding farewell to Gao Xianzhi, Li Siye walked towards the army and towards the camp.
Along the way, everyone in the Tang army was seriously injured, with countless people wailing and crying out in pain.
Li Siye looked solemn as he entered the Chinese army's camp and asked the sentry: "Where is Duan Xiushi?"
The sentry replied: "General Duan is in the rear camp and is taking care of the wounded."
Li Siye nodded and came to the back camp and saw a young, elegant-looking man helping to bandage the wounded.
Seeing Li Siye approaching, Duan Xiushi stood up, cupped his hands and said, "I have met Vice General Li."
Li Siye waved his hand, pulled Duan Xiushi aside, and whispered: "The Protector has agreed to withdraw the troops."
Duan Xiushi put his robe on the hem, wiped his blood-stained hands, and asked Li Siye: "Did Vice-General Li tell the Protector?"
Li Siye nodded first, then sighed: "It's strange to say that the words you taught me have come in handy. The Protector originally wanted to fight the enemy to the death, but after hearing those words, he changed his mind and changed his plan.
"
Duan Xiushi looked at the miserable scene in the wounded camp and slowly shook his head: "This battle has reached this point and can no longer continue." Li Siye: "Who says it's not the case? There were nearly 20,000 Tang soldiers during the expedition.
, I’m afraid only a few thousand can really return to Anxi.”
Duan Xiushi: "I'm afraid I won't be able to live in peace on the way back."
Li Siye: "Are you worried that the food army will take advantage of the situation to pursue you?"
Duan Xiushi shook his head and said: "Xiushi is not worried about cannibalism... the hearts of the countries in the Western Regions are already unstable. Now that the Tang army has suffered a new defeat, there is no guarantee that they will be attacked by others on the way back."
Li Siye was stunned: "Sneak attack? Who will do the sneak attack?"
Duan Xiushi: "In the Battle of Talas, Da Shi won the battle, and Anxi's power has changed. In the past, those vassal states that wanted to break away from the Tang Dynasty might have evil intentions, and then secretly collude with Da Shi with evil intentions.
"
Li Siye: "The countries in the Western Regions are just clowns. I don't know who dares to make mistakes... but they are cannibals. Will they take the opportunity to take over Anxi?"
Duan Xiushi: "I heard that the civil strife in Dashi has not yet subsided. Although the Anxi Army lost ten thousand people this time, the main force is still there. As long as the situation does not worsen, the people of Dashi will not dare to advance eastward."
Li Siye heard the hidden meaning in Duan Xiushi's words, and couldn't help but ask: "The situation...is no longer deteriorating? What is the meaning of this statement?" Reading La
Duan Xiushi looked up at the sky and took a long breath: "I hope my worries are unfounded."
On the other side of the battlefield, there is the commander's tent of Dashi Army.
A middle-aged man dressed in black and wearing a headscarf looked at the map on the table and remained silent.
Beside him, a bearded general wearing armor said respectfully: "Governor, how should our army attack next?"
A middle-aged man dressed in black turned his head to General Dashi. His sharp eyes made the latter dare not look directly. His voice was full of majesty: "Ziyad, I told you before the war that you are the leader of this army."
The coach, I just came to supervise the battle."
Ziyad covered his heart with his hands, bowed and saluted, turned around and shouted to the messenger: "Send the order, order the twelve commanders to start encircling, don't let any enemy escape, and then order Mayim's heavy cavalry to block the mountain road!"
"
After giving a few orders, Ziyad came to the man in black, saluted and said: "Victory belongs to you, Abu Muslim Governor."
The latter asked: "But what's the price?"
Ziyad was stunned: "The price?"
Abu Muslim took a battle report and read: "Forty thousand Sheikhs commanded troops, thirteen thousand were killed; eleven thousand Lianghe cavalry, nearly half were lost; sixty thousand Hydera people, more than half were killed.
Twenty thousand, even King Hartmann was killed by Liu Ya..."
Listening to the battle damage report from Abu Muslim, the joy on Ziyad's face was slowly replaced by shock and uneasiness.
Abu Muslim: "The Tang army came from afar and fought bloody battles for five days and nights without rest as soon as they entered the battlefield. But we not only rested and trained in Samarkand for three months, but our army was five times that of the enemy, and our war horses were fully equipped.
The terrain is also favorable to our army, not to mention that there are 20,000 Geluolu people who defected before the battle... As a result, this so-called victory turned out like this!"
Ziad buried his head deeply and did not dare to say another word.
Abu Muslim took a deep breath: "Before the war started, I thought that the Tang State's national power was slightly stronger than that of the Zhaowu Kingdoms, and with the original intention of acting cautiously, I made complete preparations. Now that I think about it, fortunately, the preparations were sufficient, and then
This battle was narrowly won.”
After a pause, Abu Muslim said to Ziyad: "From today on, send more people to the territory of the Tang Dynasty to investigate the truth. Before drawing a conclusion, order the army of Khorasan Province to guard the main roads.
Be vigilant and don’t act rashly!”
Hearing this, Ziad bowed and said: "I will obey the order of the Governor!"
next chapter
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