When Su Chen heard what Li Chengqian said, he nodded: "That's right!"
"Forget it, leave it alone!"
"The army will leave tomorrow and return to Basra!"
The next morning, the entire army happily broke camp and headed south.
Muwesa stood on the other side of the river, watching the Tang army leave on the other side, and let out a long breath:
"Hurry up and report to Taixi Feng that the Tang army has begun to retreat!"
Several fast horses quickly conveyed the news to Ctesiphon that the Tang army had begun to withdraw.
Then another fast horse rushed out of Ctesiphon and continued to gallop northeast.
The news of the withdrawal of the Tang people quickly spread from the Mesopotamia and Mesopotamia through Khorasan, the Transoxiana, and the countries in the Western Regions...all the way to the northwest of the Tang Dynasty secretly, and then continued secretly to the southeastern coast of the Tang Dynasty.
…
When Su Chen led his army back to Basra, he did not give up on inquiring about all aspects of the food.
Along the way, we continued to receive news from the Persians.
First, after Ottoman led his army to recapture Nineveh, they quickly moved south along the Tigris River and were invincible along the way.
The places occupied by 222 and the Khazars some time ago were quickly taken back by the Ottomans.
222 Seeing that Ottoman suddenly appeared behind him, he immediately gave up the attack on Ctesiphon with the Khazars and quickly retreated northeast with his army.
The Khazars were no match for the Ottoman elites.
After suffering several consecutive defeats, the Khazars, who suffered heavy losses, quickly fled northward, preparing to return to their hometown in the north of the Caucasus Mountains.
The Ottomans sent people to continue driving the Khazars north and returned to Ctesiphon.
222 crossed the Zagros Mountains, escaped the pursuit of the giant cannibal, and silently retreated to the city of Rai south of the Caspian Sea.
Seeing that Osman had returned to Ctesiphon, Hothro also led his army to retreat and returned to the southeast of the Karon River.
For a time, the war-torn Mesopotamia quickly returned to calm.
Hashem also sent messages from the Levant region,
After the Byzantines recaptured Damascus, they had several small-scale battles with the cannibals in the Mount Hermon area, with both sides winning and losing.
Then the Byzantine army slowly retreated and retreated to Damascus, no longer actively attacking southward.
The war between Byzantium and the Cathars in the Levant region on the western front also came to an end.
When it comes to cannibalism, Zubair and Osman seem to be very calm.
After Su Chen led his army back to Basra, he took a short rest and prepared to set sail back to Datang.
But there is something very difficult to do:
It is impossible for the whole army to return to Datang. Some people still need to stay in Basra.
But the whole army was looking forward to returning home as soon as possible, and no one wanted to stay.
In the city of Basra, Su Chen stood in front of the map, analyzing the current situation in West Asia:
Judging from the information currently available, the situation in the entire West Asia region has become clear:
The Eclipse has been divided into two, with the conservative nobles supporting Zubair occupying the Eclipse Peninsula, and the radical nobles supporting the Ottomans occupying most of the Mesopotamia and other parts of the former Persia.
Osman and Zubair must have reached an agreement behind the scenes, and the two sides seemed to have no intention of attacking each other.
The vast territory of the original Persian Empire is now roughly divided into three parts.
The Ottomans occupied the most prosperous and developed Mesopotamia;
Khosland and Rappasu occupy the Persian Gulf coastal area southwest of the Zagros Mountains and east of the Karon River;
Northeast of the Zagros Mountains, most of the vast plateau and desert areas were controlled by the former Persian king 222;
In addition, the Kingdom of Lachem occupies a small area in the northwest of the Mesopotamia and west of the Euphrates River.
There is also the coastal area of the Mesopotamia within a radius of a hundred miles around Basra, which is the overseas territory of Datang.
Although the Ottomans were continuously attacked by the army led by Su Chen and their strength was greatly damaged, they were still the strongest side in West Asia.
The northern part of the Dashi Peninsula, the Levant region, was originally the main target of competition between Dashi and Byzantium.
After the Byzantines recaptured Damascus, they deliberately withdrew most of their troops.
Now Byzantium, the Ottoman Empire, and Zubair have reached a delicate balance in the Levant.
A small country sandwiched between the three parties, the Canni Kingdom temporarily has a relatively stable external environment.
This made Hashem, who had just regained the throne, breathe a sigh of relief.
After Byzantium withdrew its troops from the Levant, it increased its troops on the east coast of the Black Sea.
It seems that the vast area west of the Caspian Sea and southeast of the Black Sea will be the main direction of competition between the Ottomans, Heraclius and 222.
When Heraclius gave up the fight for the Levant region on the east coast of the Mediterranean, he not only sent more troops to the east coast of the Black Sea, but also quietly sent troops across the sea to North Africa in an attempt to recapture Egypt.
The food garrison in North Africa was already having a hard time dealing with the Berbers, but they were attacked from behind by Byzantium. The situation suddenly became critical.
Zubair has quickly sent troops from the Dashi Peninsula to North Africa for reinforcements.
Su Chen stared at the map and cursed in his mind: Heraclius is such a cunning old fox!
The separation of Zubair and Ottoman made the empire no longer a threat to Byzantium in the Levant.
But if Byzantium continues to press its troops in the Levant, Zubair and Osman will definitely join forces to deal with him.
So Heraclius immediately withdrew his troops from the Levant, and then attacked Catastrophe from the east and west directions.
Although this will also offend Osman and Zubair at the same time, there is no possibility for the two to unite.
The important thing is that both sides can find allies to help,
To the east are the Khazars who have just been driven back to the Caucasus, as well as Rai's 222,
To the west are the Berbers and numerous forces on the northern shores of the Mediterranean.
Su Chen looked at the map and sighed in his heart: He had worked hard for more than a year with his army. Although it interrupted the rapid expansion of the food, it was Heraclius, an old fox, who finally took advantage of it.
Heraclius' passive offensive in the Levant region, although in the end he only recovered Damascus, but judging from the current situation, Byzantium has become the absolute strongest party in this area.
"Commander! You've been staring at the map for a long time, what are you thinking about?"
"Aren't you about to lead the army back to Datang?"
"how?
Are you reluctant to leave?"
Elsa sent Su Chen the information about the Levant and North Africa collected by Hashim, and then stayed in the hall, enjoying the wine that Su Chen had just chilled.
Su Chen retracted his thoughts and sighed: "Everyone in the army is looking forward to returning to Datang as soon as possible."
"But after all, it has been more than a year of hard work. Before I leave, let's look at the results of this year of hard work!"
Elsa smiled and said: "Why do I look at the commander-in-chief and he seems to be dissatisfied?"
Su Chen: "That's not true. During this expedition, the army accomplished all the set goals brilliantly and also achieved huge additional gains!"
"The only regret is that Heraclius, an old fox, got a huge advantage!"
