In AD 932, the third year of the Changxing reign of the Later Tang Dynasty, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Persian Samanid army, which had been attacking Balasagon for five days, suddenly collapsed on a stormy morning.
When the leader of the God Warriors, the Grand Imam of the Sufi Sect of Bukhara, Abdul Ahmed, who suffered heavy casualties and insufficient supplies due to the storming of Balashagon, angrily rushed into the tent of the army commander Ali Duraf.
At that time, I was immediately shocked.
Because there is everything inside, even the armor of Governor Durav is still hanging in the commander's tent, but there is no one.
Immediately afterwards, the believers who went to search for people in various places also came back and reported that not only Governor Ali Duraf had lost their traces, but also the officers above the heads of thousands of households in the Elsalia army and some centurion officers had also lost their traces.
Also leaving together were more than ten camps, approximately two thousand elite Ersalia troops.
Only then did the God Warriors and Mustafa Army, who had suffered close to a thousand casualties in the siege, realize that they had been abandoned and their granaries were at the bottom.
After the five-day fierce attack and the capture of Balashagon, the city was given to the Sufi sect as a foothold.
These were just false promises given to them in order to allow them to cover Governor Ali Duraf's escape.
The cry of being abandoned quickly spread throughout the entire military camp. At this time, even Ahmed, as the Grand Priest and the main convener of the God Warriors, could no longer control the troops.
The army immediately mutinied. A large number of God Warriors and Mustafa troops first looted the remaining food in the military camp, and then angrily rushed into the Elsalia army that had not retreated, causing a lot of conflicts.
In the end, the God Warriors, who had nowhere to vent their anger, vented their anger on Abdul Ahmed.
After they killed their Grand Priest and a large number of senior clergy, they collapsed under the attack of elite troops sent by Guo Xuanli of Balasagon City.
Countless people began to kill each other for a few survival resources, and carrying the only remaining high-ranking officers, they began to retreat to Ashbrei City.
At this time, Bai Congxin, Li Ruotai and others, who had already bypassed the army of divine warriors, had already joined Zhang Zhao.
Zhang Zhao did not take care of the abandoned warriors, but divided his troops into two groups as early as Ali Duraf and others ran away.
They pursued one after another all the way from behind, not allowing Ali Duraf and others a chance to breathe, and used the terrain in front to block them layer by layer.
At this time, not to mention the God's Arm Bow, even a stone thrown down can make the panicked deserters fly away.
On the road from Balashagon to Ashbulai City, which was only a hundred miles away, corpses of Persian soldiers, battle flags, banners, armor, weapons, and all kinds of materials were scattered all over the hillside.
Bai Congxin and others who were chasing behind did not need to go up to fight hand-to-hand. They only needed to hang far behind, and then continued to easily kill the stragglers and soldiers who had lost their physical strength, and at the same time, they made it impossible for those who escaped in front to rest.
Fear, fatigue, and injuries killed more than five times as many soldiers as those killed by the sword.
"Your Excellency Basil, that bastard Ismar must have not cleared the ambush in the woods at all. He must have simply escaped!"
A bearded officer with all his armor thrown away and wearing only a single coat cried to Ali Duraf.
Something that should have slipped away smoothly was prepared three days in advance and ended up like this because the enemies who attacked the grain road were not cleared away. The enemies in the woods must be related to Balasagon.
, so that he can ambush himself so accurately.
Ali Duraf looked to the west viciously, and he swore that as long as he could return to Tashkent, he would kill all the Ismails and leave no one behind!
"Masudi, my loyal general, can we return to Tashkent? If I cannot return to Tashkent, the Grand Wazir Balaami of Bukhara will definitely send his cronies to take over Tashkent!"
Ali Duraf looked at Masudi with stern eyes. He knew that he couldn't run anymore. He had already vomited twice while running. If he kept running like this, he would definitely die of exhaustion if he didn't get killed.
Masudi was stunned for a long time in the cold drizzle. He knew what Governor Ali Duraf meant, that is, to let him take the throne.
Because there is a deep conflict between the military aristocrats of the Tashkent Governorate headed by Ali Durav and the Grand Wazir Balaami in the capital Bukhara.
Balaami tried several times to summon Governor Ali Durav to Bukhara and then sent his confidants to take over Tashkent, but failed.
But if Governor Durav is killed in the battle this time, then Tashkent will definitely be taken over by people sent by the Grand Wazir Baraami.
Then he, a Tashkent military aristocrat who was considered a close confidant of Governor Ali Durav, and who suffered such a huge defeat and even died in battle, must be a specific candidate to take the blame.
Masudi knew that he had no choice, because once something like this happened, his family, his beautiful wives and sisters, and his well-behaved son would all be lost and would surely become the trophies of others.
Only by allowing Governor Ali Durav to return to Tashkent alive can he possibly save his family.
"My dear Masudi, my brother, don't worry, I will definitely protect your family, I will raise your son and tell him that his father is a great hero!"
"Your Majesty Wazir, please mount your horse!" Masudi bowed to Ali Duraf simply, and then he shouted loudly to a group of his stunned colleagues.
"If anyone still hopes to maintain the honor of a warrior and preserve his family, come with me and give up your horses and food to others!"
Masudi was still very prestigious in the army. At this time, he had assembled a team of more than 400 people and was willing to stop them.
"May Allah bless you, my brother!" Ali Duraf's face was wet, and he didn't know whether it was tears or rain.
.....
"Without me, you can't go back to Tashkent, and you won't be able to survive, but if you are willing to cooperate with me, then... prosperity and wealth will be just around the corner!"
In the drizzle, I, Grand Duke Zhang, stood proudly on the bank of blood with my hands behind my back. In front of him, stood a majestic bearded man. He was a member of the Mustafa Army of Samanpos.
The Mustafa Army is the royal army of Samambas. Those who can reach the position of heads of thousands of households in this army are generally relatively powerful and their families are also local big landowners.
Such people, cares and bonds are always much more than naked big-headed soldiers.
"Why are you willing to help me return to Tashkent? We are your enemies!"
The bearded Qianhu asked in a low voice, he did not believe that the pagan noble in front of him would be so kind.
"I know we are enemies, but we also have a common enemy, and that is the governor of Tashkent, Ali Durav.
I don't think you would have come here to invade us if it weren't for Ali Durav, a greedy coward.
So strictly speaking, you are not my enemy. My enemy is Ali Duraf, and your enemy is also Ali Duraf."
Zhang Zhao smiled and gently wiped the rainwater from his face. His voice became even deeper and more seductive.
"And I can also tell you that Ali Duraf has been entangled by my soldiers and he cannot run far.
So what you have to do is to pour out your anger on this coward governor who betrayed you."
Hearing Zhang Zhao mention the name Ali Duraf, the bearded officer's eyes turned red.
In this war, he had already lost a younger brother and three of his best friends, and they all died in the meaningless siege in the last five days.
If it weren't for Ali Duraf's betrayal, they might have died, but they wouldn't have died so meaninglessly.
"Okay, noble Dihkan, I am willing to accept your help, as long as you let me kill Ali Duraf, this cowardly and vicious fox!"
Yan Jin looked at Zhang Zhao in confusion. He didn't speak until the bearded officer walked away.
"My lord, that Ali Duraf is just a wild dog running around in panic. He is already at the end of his rope. We can easily defeat him ourselves, so why do we need the help of these divine warriors?
Moreover, the glory of capturing the enemy commander alive should belong to us, Bai Congxin and Captain Li worked hard to accomplish this great feat."
"Of course these warriors are not needed to capture Ali Duraf, I just want them to be stained with the blood of my own people.
Don’t worry! The honor of capturing the enemy commander alive belongs to all the men of Hanshan City, so it’s good to use these divine warriors to use them up!”
Zhang Zhao patted Yan Jin's shoulder and explained in a low voice, but Yan Jin looked at Zhang Zhao even more puzzled.
"My lord, do you still want to fight to Talos? I don't think there is any need!"
Because we simply don’t have enough people to guard there, unless you are willing to become the king or khan of the territory from Balasagun to Talas!”
Zhang Zhaohao is not surprised that Yan Jin would say this, because Yan Jin's ultimate dream is in sync with him.
Zhang Zhao wanted to go back and revitalize the Guiyi Army and open up Ganliang (ostensibly), and Yan Jin thought the same way.
Because his biggest wish is to return to Taiyuan after getting through Ganliang, to return the shrine of his ancestor Yan Chao to the ancestral hall of the Yan family in Taiyuan, and to tell all the clansmen what the last Tang Dynasty Hexi Governor Yan Chao was like
hero!
Yes, in Yan Jin's mind, although Guo Ziyi briefly led the Hexi Jiedu envoy after the Anshi Rebellion, it could not be counted at all because Guo Ziyi had never been in office.
At the same time, Zhang's Guiyi Army never received the official position of Hexi Jiedushi, so his ancestor, Yan Dynasty, was the last Hexi Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty.
"Captain Yan knows my heart!" Zhang Zhao sighed, and then he looked at Yan Chao out of curiosity.
"How about I give you a cousin name?"
Choosing a cousin name was a very important thing in ancient times. It was usually chosen by the respected elders for the younger ones.
Zhang Zhao had an extraordinary background and was also Yan Jin's boss and benefactor. Although he was younger than Yan Jin, he was definitely qualified.
Yan Jin was confused for a moment, but he was also very happy. When he came down from the mountain, the Yan family only had three or two kittens left. He didn't even have a name. The name Jin was also given by Zhang Zhaoqi, and now he can get a pseudonym.
, of course happy.
"Among all the brothers under my command, you are the only one who knows me best and knows my ambitions. I also know the ambitions in your heart, and I also understand your desire to let everyone know about the integrity of Yan Gong in Taiyuan.
You have inherited the heroic spirit of your ancestors, and if you want to show the integrity of your ancestors, why not use the word "Chengjie" as the representative character!"
"Thank you, Duke! From now on, I will call you Yan Chengjie!" Yan Jin immediately bowed down to Zhang Zhao, and Zhang Zhao quickly helped Yan Jin up.
"Although we are monarchs and ministers, we are like brothers. From now on, we will live and die together, and we will have the same wealth and honor!"
This was the first time that Zhang Zhao used the words "junior and minister" unabashedly. Of course, Yan Jin just thought that Zhang Zhao was talking about the Jun of the Guiyi Army Jiedushi. He was extremely emotional and trembled with excitement in the rain.
"The Duke is waiting for me! The mountains are high and the sea is deep, I must follow the Duke to complete the great cause!"
"Okay! Then I tell you now, I will let these Persian troops plunder and even massacre the Karakhanites from the west of Asbrai City to Baishuihu City.
No matter he is a Uighur, a Geluolu, or someone else, he has to teach them a lesson they will never forget!
It's best to let them give up the faith they just converted to!" A fierce look flashed in Zhang Zhao's eyes.
"In this way, when the Persians come again, they will not dare to lead the way. Under such a blood feud, Balasagon will be as stable as a rock!"
