Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5315 The troops are approaching the city
Although the journey was long and fraught with difficulties, Wang Xiaojie remained optimistic. He took a sip of tea and chuckled, “The reason they roamed Mesopotamia was not because of their military strength, but because they organized all those with similar interests through their doctrines. They used the ‘orthodox’ doctrines to punish the ‘heretics.’ The losers would not perish, but would declare that they had surrendered and submitted to the doctrines. They would band together to bully the weak… The Byzantium further west was nothing more than a loose federation of cities, worshipping a so-called ‘Roman Emperor.’ Its system and military strength were not even as good as the Turks’. They were utterly vulnerable.”

"Our Tang army has strict discipline, lofty ideals, and long-term goals. Our soldiers train hard day after day, we have excellent weapons and armor, a perfect command system from top to bottom, and the power of firearms. As long as we do not underestimate the enemy or act rashly, it will be difficult for us to be defeated."

"What did the Grand Commandant say again? 'Tactically respect the enemy, strategically despise the enemy.' Hah, the mere Arabs are nothing but chickens and dogs!"

Xue Rengui laughed as well, shifting his gaze from the map with renewed confidence: "Although the journey has been difficult this winter, the Anxi Protectorate has sent us a lot of supplies, especially medicines and those newly developed 'gunpowder packs,' which are enough to support our long-distance advance and strike at the enemy's lair!"

They relied on fighting to sustain themselves along the way. They had no food or clothing, but the enemy provided them. However, injuries and illnesses caused by acclimatization issues during battles resulted in the greatest losses for the army. This was because these Arabs had no medical system. They would bleed people out of colds or diarrhea, apply some ashes to external wounds, and then leave it to fate.

Therefore, the Tang army had no way to capture the medicines they needed!

Because Xue Rengui had been staying in Mulu City all winter, Suyab City was able to catch up with him and deliver the most important medicine.

The "gunpowder pack" was an even more powerful weapon for attacking cities and capturing strongholds, and its power was more than doubled compared to the previous simple gunpowder.
Given the Arabs' architectural prowess, no city wall could have survived the onslaught of the "powder keg" unscathed...

In open field battles, the Tang army was invincible.

Armed with swords, plate armor, powerful bows and crossbows, the heavily armored cavalry charged forward like an unstoppable torrent of steel.

And what about the Abbasid army?

They can't even gather enough horseshoes...

They are not even in the same plane.

Wang Xiaojie grinned, revealing a row of big teeth: "I thought it would be a long and arduous expedition, with so many people, and I didn't know how many would make it back alive... But now it seems that the Abbasid Caliphate is just a paper tiger. It looks vast and imposing, but it's actually easy to break!"

Xue Rengui laughed: "Then let's treat it as a long spring outing, crossing mountains and rivers, to Damascus to experience the exotic scenery, and then return to the capital in triumph!"

"Pass down the order: the entire army is to prepare to depart in three days!"

"The first battle of the new year, Nisa City!"

"Dig up the Sheikh's stronghold!"

"Here!"

……

Dry winds, carrying not a trace of moisture, swept from west to east, covering the entire desert. The winter snow melted rapidly, and Tang troops, having rested all winter, marched out from the south gate of Mulu City, their armor gleaming, their military bearing magnificent, and they charged menacingly toward Nisa City.

After a winter, the flames of war reignite as the spring breeze blows.

Heavy cavalry brought up the rear while light cavalry advanced, their iron hooves thundering across the muddy roads like lightning, their banners waving as they charged straight towards Nisa.

In Nisa, the atmosphere was tense, with soldiers running around in a chaotic manner, and warhorses being pulled out of the stables to drink water, feed, and have their reins checked.

Inside the city lord's mansion, Sheikh looked grave, for he was about to make a life-or-death decision—whether to cross the mountains behind him into the Persian Plateau, or to follow the northern foothills of the mountains westward through the lowlands south of the Leyzhai Sea, making a large detour back to Damascus.

The choice between the two routes had nothing to do with the length or difficulty of the journey; it was simply a matter of which route the Tang army would choose.

If they were to inadvertently choose the same path as the Tang Dynasty, they would face the predicament of being chased by the Tang army. Given the strict discipline, excellent quality, and swiftness of the Tang army, Xie He believed that his rabble would never be able to outrun them, and once caught up by the Tang army, they would be completely annihilated.

The Tang army's ultimate goal was Damascus, but who knows which path they would choose!

Although crossing the mountains to enter the Persian Plateau is a difficult and winding journey, it is closer to Damascus; the other route is longer but easier to travel and faster!
There's merit to choosing either option...

As for avoiding the Tang army's advance and waiting for the Tang army to set off before launching a surprise attack on Mulu City to recover lost territory, Xie He never even considered it.

He no longer cared about the ownership of Merv, but was eager to return to Damascus, fearing that the missing Yazid would return to Damascus alive and file a complaint against him in front of the Caliph!
They are father and son after all, and Yeqide is the heir to the Abbasid Caliphate. It is only natural to place all the blame on him, a mere subject...

Which path should we choose?
Sheikh was anxious and frustrated, racking his brains, but ultimately still couldn't make a decision.

Then let's leave it to the "prophet"...

He took a gold coin from his pocket, closed his eyes, and tossed it high into the air, silently reciting: "If the scripture lands face up, we will cross the mountains and travel to the Persian Plateau; if it lands face down, we will travel through the southern lowlands of the Sea of ​​Leyte and take a long detour back to Damascus..."

When he heard the sound of gold coins falling onto the table in front of him, he opened his eyes and saw the scripture facing upwards.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Since it was a hint from the "prophet," I stopped worrying about it. The "prophet" is omniscient and omnipotent. He can't possibly deceive or abandon his faithful believer, can he?

"Pass down the order: depart first thing tomorrow morning, head west to the Leizhu Sea, and return to Damascus!"

When the order was delivered, the entire city of Nisa was thrown into chaos. Although the gold coins brought back from Mulu had been "extorted" by the Tang people, there was still a considerable amount of food and supplies left. The soldiers were busy loading them onto carts, while the rest of the troops packed up their tents and weapons, preparing for a long journey.

Alone in the city lord's mansion, Xie He had the cook roast a leg of lamb, sprinkled with precious spices, and then pulled out a bottle of white wine that he had previously stolen from Tang merchants. He ate with sips of wine and bites of meat, thoroughly enjoying himself, but he felt very stifled.

The entire family nearly went bankrupt to buy him the official position of "Eastern Envoy" to be stationed in Mulu City, hoping to recoup these investments by plundering the wealth of the Silk Road and make a fortune.

But who could have imagined that the savings accumulated over several years would be extorted by the Tang army?
All that saving, all that effort, and a gust of wind knocked the pole down...

Upon returning to Damascus, he not only had to explain to the Caliph the defeat at Merv and the capture of Yazid, but also to his people and allies why none of the money remained.

If he's mistakenly accused of embezzling the money, that would be a huge problem...

Ugh!
How did it come to this?!
A terrible disaster has struck!
He downed the wine in one gulp. This strong liquor from the Tang Dynasty was mellow and had a sweet aftertaste, but it was too spicy. As he frowned, twitched his nose, and grimaced, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside. A soldier rushed in, shouting, "Lord, something terrible has happened! The Tang army is attacking!"

"what?"

Sheikh was taken aback: "Is the information accurate?"

The guard said, "The beacon fires on the city walls are a signal that the enemy is about to attack!"

The distance between Nisa and Mulu was neither too close nor too far. Relying solely on scouts to relay messages would be too slow. If the Tang army planned to launch a surprise attack on Nisa, even if their scouts were faster than the enemy's when the light cavalry set off from Mulu, they would not leave Nisa with much time to prepare.

Therefore, Xiehe used the oldest method of "beacon fire communication" to set up "lookout posts" on the high ground outside Mulu City. As soon as the main force of the Tang army left the city, beacon fires would be lit immediately. Beacon towers were set up at high places every ten miles to continuously and quickly transmit the news back to Nisa City.

As soon as the beacon towers of Nisa were lit, it would prove that the Tang army had launched a full-scale attack.

Messages travel much faster than news delivered by fast horses...

Sheikh broke out in a cold sweat.

The Tang army had just departed from Mulu City and was still far from Nisa City. However, the Tang light cavalry was quite fast. Not only did they need to quickly load their supplies and provisions onto the wagons, but they also needed to allow some distance to avoid being overtaken by the Tang army. It was an urgent matter...

"Immediately issue the order: burn all the grain, fodder, and supplies that have not yet been loaded onto the wagons, and the entire army shall depart immediately!"

"Lord, we can't burn it! We have six or seven thousand men, and the consumption of food and supplies for the horses is enormous. What we've loaded onto the carts now might not be enough!"

Xie He angrily retorted, "If you keep making a fuss, the Tang army will be at the city gates. You can then eat your fill of all this grain and fodder!"

"……Yes."

The general dared not say more and hurried out to relay the order.

Sheikh, fully dressed and with his longsword hanging at his waist, suddenly kicked over the table and roared angrily.

Once upon a time, the envoy of the mighty Abbasid Caliphate represented the will of the Caliph, sitting in the city of Merv and intimidating the tribes in the east and west as well as in the Transoxiana region. He was like a local emperor, his words carrying the weight of the law. He never imagined that one day he would be reduced to a homeless dog.
The Tang army is despicable!

The Caliph was a tyrant!

There should be room for maneuver between the two superpowers. They can simply protect each other, do business and make money along the Silk Road, instead of targeting each other.
Unless absolutely necessary, we must not resort to arms!

Now, the Abbasid Caliphate army, armed with scriptures in one hand and a longsword in the other, is rampaging through Mesopotamia and intimidating Rome. One victory after another has made the empire incredibly arrogant, and they no longer take the Tang Dynasty of the East seriously, thinking they can be destroyed with a snap of their fingers...

But that was no longer the chaotic end of the Sui Dynasty, a time of widespread warfare!

The ancient and glorious Chinese civilization only needs a wise and enlightened ruler to end the chaos and rebuild order and revive!
Why insist on being their enemy, fighting to the death?
If everyone just stays put and lives in peace, that would be fine!
Sheikh sighed deeply, walked out the door, and looked at the thick smoke rising everywhere. He felt like grinding his teeth.

Even if we are reluctant to part with those provisions and supplies, we absolutely cannot leave them to the Tang army.