After all, it has been operating in this area for nearly a hundred years, and Tianfang Sect has already established a certain foundation among the people. Although the powerful ministers of Jiantuoluo Kingdom categorically announced that they had changed their minds, many Tianfang believers still wanted to eat. When they found signs of Tang troops gathering in the city, they immediately spread the news overnight.
It was in the hands of the Eastern Crusade Jihad Army two hundred miles away.
After hearing the news, the commander of the Dashi Army, Aikelamu, was horrified. He did not dare to fight with the Tang army. In the name of protecting the believers, he quickly withdrew the remaining soldiers into the city of Jiabulo. At the same time, he recruited the young men of the city and blocked them with rocks and giant trees.
It is the only official road leading from Tancha Shiluo City to the city.
The official road near Jiabuluo was built when the three governor's offices of Shuofeng, Tiaozhi and Xiuxian were established here during the Zhongzong period of the Tang Dynasty. Originally, due to the limitations of terrain and manpower, it was simple and simple. The Tianfang Sect took advantage of the civil strife in the Tang Dynasty to obtain
After this place, they just used it and ignored the construction. Over the decades, the official road had been ruined and dilapidated. If Aikelamu deliberately destroyed it like this, it was immediately paralyzed. Not only could the large group of people be unable to pass, they could not even go out.
The shepherds who tend their sheep have lost all hope of returning home.
There is a saying that it is easier to destroy than to build. No one in the Anxi army expected that the cannibal would be so shameless. They were blocked outside the Black Rock Pass and could not move forward for several days. In desperation, Feng Changqing had no choice but to give up and reopen the road.
With this idea, he led the army to turn north, preparing to detour from the territory of Xiaobolu to the north of Gabro, and force the Tianfang army to fight again.
After hearing that the Tang Army was withdrawing to the north, Aikelamu, who had not slept well for several days, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He sent people to summon all the generals who survived the previous battle to the Governor's Mansion, and discussed with everyone with a bit of sadness.
Said: "We were too hasty in preparing for this expedition. And God refused to give any more help because of the constant fighting among us believers. In order to protect God's believers and territory, I have done everything I can.
If the Tang army comes back from the north again, as the commander of the army, I can only prove my loyalty with blood. But there is no need for you to wait for death with me. Those of you who can find a way to safely transfer back to the west
, just figure it out for yourself now. I estimate that I still have a month to spare, so hurry up and leave before the Tang army arrives. Just don’t let the soldiers know, and you don’t have to stay with me any longer!"
Although the generals were very dissatisfied with Aikelamu because of their previous defeat, after hearing his heartfelt words, they were all moved to tears. After sobbing for a while, they all began to persuade: "Sir, don't be discouraged. Let's
Don’t we still have more than 50,000 soldiers? The weather is about to cool down. It will take at least a month to walk back here from Xiaobolu. The city of Gabulo is still strong, as long as we hold on to the city for a month and a half.
, so it was delayed until the end of autumn. At that time, we didn’t need to do anything, just the strong wind blowing from the nearby snow-capped mountains could freeze the Tang army camping in the wild into ice lumps alive!"
"Yes, we all talked too much when we came here, and now we are looking for excuses to run back. Even if we escape prosecution with the strength of our family, we will probably not be able to raise our heads again in this life. We might as well stay in the city and fight again!
"
"In the last battle, it may be that Jiantuoluo Gouzi colluded with the Tang people and poisoned our drinking water, which made the soldiers' hands and feet weak. This time we stayed in the city without showing our heads. I don't believe that the Tang army can fly in!
"
"Yes, yes. We may not win the field battle, but we can always defend the city. Fighting in the west and attacking the Fu Fu people's city will take us at least half a year. The walls of Jiabulo are bigger than the Fu Fu people.
The city wall is intact. As long as we are determined to defend it, we should be able to hold on for two or three months." (Note 1)
Everyone was talking a lot, but none of them could deviate from the original meaning, which was that they could not win against the Tang Army in the wild no matter what. But with the weather and favorable location, there would be no problem in surviving this year.
"What will happen if the weather gets cold?" Aikelamu interrupted everyone, shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Now all the surrounding servant countries are frightened by the Tang army. The Tang people asked to go to the city to escape the cold, how dare they not eat well and serve them well?
?When the snow melts next year, won’t we still have to fight all the way to the city?!”
"We should have wiped out all these pagan countries that were unfaithful to God!" A bearded general jumped up and cursed bitterly.
"Yes, these heretics should go to hell! Kill them all, divide the property among the brothers, and boost morale!" Someone immediately jumped up and cried and howled outside the window.
The big food countries advanced in both directions at the same time. The resistance they encountered in the west was not as great as in the east. Those small countries that believed in the cross religion either fled westward or stayed and were treated as slaves. Few countries like the east still need
The jihadists pretended to do some gentle acts to appease them. If they dared to show even the slightest disrespect to Master Dashi, let alone a human being, they could completely wipe out even the city, leaving no room for struggle.
In the face of a formidable enemy, some people are still thinking about how to kill people and rob money in the city. This cannot be approved by Aikeram in any case. He frowned and scolded in a deep voice: "Kill them all, who will?"
Providing food, cheese and gold to the army? Besides, isn’t it too late to say this now? Do you still want to force the people in Jiabulo City to go to the Tang Army? If you want to leave, leave immediately. If you don’t want to leave, don’t.
Make trouble for me. Otherwise, I don’t mind sending him to hell before I die.”
There are many factions within Tianfang Sect, including both peaceful and radical factions. For the peaceful faction, as long as the heretics are willing to pay taxes, they should be protected. For the radical faction, all the property and lives of the heretics should be protected.
They are not qualified to negotiate terms with believers. In order to achieve the goal of rapid expansion, the powerful officials of the Great Food Kingdom have been silently supporting the power of the radicals. Among the two holy war armies in the east and west, fanatic believers occupy an absolute majority.
The mainstream. But the more people who have been dealing with the countries in the Western Regions for a long time, the more inclined they are to the peace faction. In their hearts, they have more or less realized that using force alone and the temptation of the Kingdom of Heaven can no longer resist the people of the Western Regions' yearning for the Tang Dynasty.
.Only by applying both kindness and power can we get more opportunities.
Aikelam had been in Khorasan for many years and had a very deep understanding of the influence of the Tang Dynasty. Not to mention that the Eastern Expeditionary Army had been defeated at this time, and the deterrence of force had been greatly reduced. Even when he achieved a complete victory in the Battle of Talas, he also
Don't dare to kill small local countries easily.
However, the more desperate a person is in a moment, the easier it is for his true nature to be exposed. No one of the generals dared to really go against their own coach, but they did not agree with his decision. Especially those fools who wanted to vent their anger on the people for their failure.
Seeing that Aikelamu was angry, he immediately lowered his head. He hid behind the crowd and muttered in a low voice: "If we don't kill them, are we waiting for the city to be broken and they will help the Tang people sharpen their swords to kill us? They are not
Real church members?!”
Many generals originally believed that they could no longer return to their hometown safely. After hearing these instigations, their minds became active. They secretly exchanged glances and prepared to join forces to put pressure on Aikelam again. Although they massacred and plundered
It may not be able to boost morale, but at least everyone can go crazy again before they die.
Aikelamu's ability to direct battles is average, but his ability to grasp people's hearts is far superior to that of other generals. After looking around for a while, he guessed what some people were really thinking. He slapped the table hard and shouted loudly: "Just now
Who is talking! If you have the ability, stand up in front of me and speak. Louder, so that everyone can hear what you are saying! Do you know why the countries in the Western Region are always willing to collude with the Tang Dynasty? It is because of the existence of you guys,
Let them regard the followers of Allah as devils!"
Some people immediately bent their waists lower, while others stiffened their necks and looked at the commander angrily. There were also some generals who sat up as peacekeepers and advised Aikelam not to get angry over trivial matters as small as sand.
Push away dissatisfied colleagues and prevent them from escalating conflicts.
Seeing that before the Tang army could attack in a roundabout way, the soldiers in the city were already splitting up. Ali Ben Hamed Ben Polk, who had just been appreciated by Aiqilamu not long ago... Adi pushed away and stood in front of him.
The man smiled and said: "Has the Tang army arrived at the city? Why are everyone in a panic as if they have to prove their loyalty to God tomorrow? What's the use of arguing about how to treat the heretics now? If you have that time, how can you think of a way to defeat the Tang army?
Push it back?!"
"nonsense!"
"This man is a fool!" All the generals, regardless of their position, including Aikelam himself, turned their heads and cast pity on Ali's face.
Little Ali didn't have the slightest sense of being looked down upon. He smiled and continued to spit out venom, "What, did I say something wrong? It will take a few days for the Tang Army to come over. Is everyone starting to prepare for the funeral so soon? I'm going to die.
Hurry up, I just have the opportunity to take your last words back to my hometown. I will write a book in the future called The Last Prayer of Idiots..."
"If you have something to say, just say it quickly!" The bearded general who just took the lead in demanding murder to vent his anger rushed up and grabbed little Ali's neck. "If you can't tell me something, don't blame me for beating you all over the face.
flowering!"
"The scriptures say that what is the punishment for using violence against believers?" As expected of an Imam, little Ali suppressed the bearded arrogance with just one sentence. "As for what I want to say? No.
You are qualified to listen. Get out of my way, otherwise, sooner or later I will make you bear the wrath of the Adi family!"
"They are almost dead, who is still afraid of the Adi family behind you?" The bearded man shouted loudly, but his body movements revealed his timidity. He quickly let go of his hand and retreated into the crowd.
"I have a way to get everyone out of trouble. And I can make everyone return to their hometown safely and proudly!" Little Adi curled his lips and continued, "But, I have two conditions. First.
, everyone must swear to keep this secret. Secondly, those who are not high enough should take the initiative to step down. Otherwise, I would rather keep this idea rotten in my stomach!"
,
Note 1: Fu Fu, the Arab transliteration of the Eastern Roman Empire and Europe. The Tang people called it Fu Fu based on the Arab transliteration. Before the Arabs cut off the Silk Road, Europeans had business trips with the Tang Dynasty.
Nestorianism was also introduced to the Tang Dynasty from here.
